Twice-to-beat teams top seed National University (NU) and defending champion University of the Philippines (UP) aim to arrange a championship meeting when they take on separate foes in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 men’s basketball tournament Final Four today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Bulldogs get a crack at the first finals seat against last year’s runner-up and fourth seed De La Salle University at 1:30 p.m. while the Fighting Maroons battle a hungry University of Santo Tomas side in the main game at 4:30 p.m.

If NU and UP hurdle their respective opponents, it will mark the first ever meeting of the two schools in the best-of-three final series in the Final Four era.

The Bulldogs, who finished the elimination round with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record and are looking to return to the finals since winning it all in 2014, will have their full arsenal with Gelo Santiago back from a five-game suspension following a disqualifying foul in an elimination round meeting with Ateneo de Manila University.

The 6-foot-1 guard will be a marked man by the Green Archers, being the one responsible for Mason Amos missing seven games due to a knee injury in an inadvertent collision in the first round.

“He knows he needs to make up for that, so he needs to show that through his game,” NU head coach Jeff Napa said of his grizzled senior.

Napa will also pin his hopes on Jake Figueroa rebounding from a cold three-point outing in the Bulldogs’ 71-80 loss to UST at the end of eliminations last week that snapped their five-game winning streak. Also backstopping NU are Omar John, PJ Palacielo, Jolo Manansala, Paul Francisco and Jolo Manansala.

The Green Archers, on the other hand, are coming in inspired following a 78-72 come-from-behind win over the Blue Eagles catch the last bus ride to the semifinals.

La Salle is also fielding a complete lineup with EJ Gollena back from a one-game suspension and the expected return of Kean Baclaan from a long layoff due to a knee injury.

Despite losing twice to the Bulldogs in the elimination, Green Archers mentor Topex Robinson remains upbeat in their chances of forcing a rubber match on Saturday.

“They’re really come in confident. They’ve really been a solid team. They’ve matured. They have a great leader in Jake Figuroa but again, we’ll just keep on battling and grinding,” said Robinson, who will also bank on Mike Phillips, Jacob Cortez, Vhoris Marasigan and Luis Pablo.

Meanwhile, UP, despite reeling from an 82-82 loss to La Salle to cap the elims carries a one-game cushion over a Tigers squad that also absorbed a 79-81 loss to Far Eastern University in its last outing.

The Fighting Maroons and Tigers split their elins head-to-head with UST scoring a 20-point rout in the first round before UP’s close 89-88 payback win in their second meeting.

The Fighting Maroons are looking to give graduating stars Harold Alarcon, Terrence Fortea, and Gerry Abadiano one last trip to the championship round.

However, the Tigers, who have not stepped in the finals since a runner-up finish in 2019, will try to flip the script behind Rookie of the Year winner Collins Akowe, Nic Cabanero and Forthsky Padrigao.

“We came from a loss, but we’ll show our character and bounce back in the Final Four,” Cabanero said.

Regardless of the results of the Final Four pairings, the championship series will begin on 10 December.