La Salle eyes semis spot vs old rival Ateneo

Games today:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

1:30 p.m. — UST vs FEU

4:30 p.m. — Ateneo vs La Salle

The Ateneo de Manila University-De La Salle University storied rivalry gets more interesting with much at stake in their respective Final Four bids in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Tipoff time is at 4:30 p.m. for the main game of the rescheduled playdate originally plotted for 9 November but was postponed due to typhoon “Uwan.”

Three semifinals seats have been occupied with league-leading National University and defending champion University of the Philippines (UP) already locked in the top two spots and twice-to-beat incentives.

University of the Santo Tomas (UST) clinched the third berth and is looking to secure the No. 3 seeding in the next round.

This leaves three teams scrambling for the last seat.

Among the remaining Final Four contenders, the Green Archers have some breathing room with a solo fourth-running 7-6 win-loss record.

One win will not only pull La Salle back into the semis, but it could also lift the Topex Robinson-mentored squad to the No. 3 spot for a collision course with last year’s finals tormentor, Fighting Maroons, if the Tigers lose to Far Eastern University (FEU) in the curtain-raiser at 1:30 p.m.

However, Robinson knows beating the Blue Eagles in a regular match is never easy, what more in a game where both their semis hopes are put on the line.

“I’m sure, yes, it’s always going to be talked about, it’s always going to be a lot of pressure, but what’s important for us, I guess, is just to prepare ourselves for, you know, the battle,” Robinson said.

“What’s good about this, whatever position you’re in, if it’s Ateneo-La Salle, it’s going to be a grind-out game.”

La Salle just ended a three-game slide with an 87-82 victory over UP last Sunday.

The Green Archers will have to fight for an all-important victory sans EJ Gollena, who will be serving a one-game suspension following a disqualifying foul he committed in the previous game.

Gollena, on the last 6.6 seconds of the first quarter, hit Fighting Maroons center Francis Nnoruka in the stomach with a closed fist and was ejected.

The Green Archers can still have a chance to advance in the next round even if they lose, albeit through a precarious playoff for the last Final Four berth.

On the other hand, Ateneo eliminated Adamson University, 72-61, last Sunday for a 6-7 record tied with FEU.

The Blue Eagles seek to replicate their 81-74 win over the Green Archers, who came short of rallying from 31 points down, in the first round.

Completing an elimination round sweep over La Salle will give Ateneo a chance for a playoff for the last semis seat.

“The La Salle-Ateneo rivalry is full of so many storylines and so many external pressures. Players feel all those things and they tend to have an impact on the games. Whether its impact on various players or on the team or both teams. You can almost always be assured that whatever you expect to happen is never gonna happen and there’s going to be surprises,” Blue Eagles coach Tab Baldwin said.

“So, we just have to prepare and go into the game with composure and toughness and true desire to come out the winner.”

Meanwhile, the Tamaraws also want to give themselves a chance, no matter how slim, to fight for a semis seat through a playoff.

FEU must win over the Tigers, who hold an 8-5 slate, and pray that Ateneo beats La Salle for a three-way tie at 7-7. However, even in this scenario, the Tamaraws must hope to finish with a much better quotient to qualify for the sudden-death.

UST eyes a repeat of its 92-80 triumph over FEU in the first round to build momentum heading into its Final Four clash against UP.