UE, FEU-D seal Final Four incentives

University of the East (UE) and Far Eastern University-Diliman (FEU-D) posted convincing victories to lock in the first and second seeds in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 junior high school basketball tournament on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Junior Warriors bounced back from their first loss of the season with a statement 100-58 wire-to-wire win over the also-ran Adamson University while the Baby Tamaraws cruised past winless University of the Philippines Integrated School, 73-51, to secure the twice-to-beat advantages in the Final Four.

UE is set to face fourth seed National University Nazareth School, which formalized its entry to the semis after booking a thrilling 86-76 win over De La Salle Zobel later in the day.

FEU-D, on the other hand, will battle third-seeded University of Santo Tomas, which is coming off an impressive 105-71 win over Ateneo de Manila University.

After suffering their first defeat at the hands of FEU-D last Sunday, the Junior Warriors responded emphatically to finish the elimination round with a 13-1 record.

“I told them na we have to bounce back from the loss. Also, we have to work on our lapses and the areas we need to improve. They responded very well.” UE head coach Andrew Estrella said.

The Junior Warriors’ dominance was evident early as they built a 32-17 lead in the first quarter. A 16-2 surge to close the second period pushed their advantage to 60-30 by halftime.

The lead ballooned to 46 points, 98-52, following consecutive layups from Goodluck Okebata and free throws by Jared Ferreros.

Nine Junior Warriors scored eight or more points, led by Mav Mesina, who had a bounce-back outing of 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, and five steals after being held to just two points against the Baby Tams.

Gab delos Reyes added 14 points and six boards, while Okebata posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Kiefer Panganiban and Brian Orca chipped in 10 points each.

Meanwhile, the Baby Tamaraws extended their winning streak to five games, finishing the eliminations with an 11-2 record.