Games Thursday:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
11 a.m. – La Salle vs Adamson
1 p.m. –– UE vs NU
4:30 p.m. — UP vs FEU
6:30 p.m. –– UST vs Ateneo
Five playdates to go in the elimination round and the wild chase for the last three Final Four seats in the University Athletic Association of the Philippine Season 85 men's basketball tournament is starting to heat up.
Refreshed and recharged after a 12-day break, six teams still in the thick of the battle are expected to go all-out to join defending champion University of the Philippines in the semifinals when action resumes Thursday with a quadruple-header at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Fighting Maroons were the first to grab a ticket to the next round after hiking their win-loss record to 9-1 for the solo top spot.
Riding on a six-game winning streak, UP wants to collect as many wins as it can to build momentum for the Final Four in its last four games against Far Eastern University, De La Salle University, University of the East and rematch with Season 84 Finals victim Ateneo de Manila University on 26 November.
Sporting a 7-3 slate at second spot, National University is a cinch to clinch the second semis berth against teams it had already beaten in the first round for its last three outings.
The Bulldogs will be assured of at least a playoff for a Final Four pass if they beat the Red Warriors on Thursday. They will then take on also-ran Tigers, the suddenly cold Green Archers before wrapping up the eliminations against the Tamaraws.
The Blue Eagles, on the other hand, are also favored to make their eighth straight playoffs stint.
Ateneo, holding a 6-3 record at solo third, needs only to win three of its last five games for an outright semis berth.
The Tab Baldwin-mentored squad's remaining outings are against UST, FEU, UE, UP, and Adamson in a rescheduled playdate following the postponement of their match last 29 October due to inclement weather brought about by severe tropical storm "Paeng."
With main gunner Jerom Lastimosa out indefinitely after dislocating his right foot and Vince Magbuhos nursing a knee injury, the Falcons have a difficult road ahead in their quest for a Final Four return after four years.
At solo fourth with a 4-5 slate just half a game ahead of the Red Warriors and the Tamaraws, Adamson has a brutal schedule squaring off with La Salle on Thursday then clashing against UE, FEU and NU before closing the eliminations on 30 November against Ateneo.
The Red Warriors, Tamaraws and Green Archers, who carry a 3-6 mark, all have their backs leaning against the wall at this stage.
Forced into a must-win situation, the three squads' chances of drawing at least a playoff for semis seats are now out of their hands.
They not only need to win all of their remaining assignments but would also have to pray to the high heavens for either NU, Adamson, or Ateneo not to reach eight wins to advance in the Final Four outright or at least a tie at 8-6 at the No. 4 spot backed with a good quotient at the end of the eliminations for a chance to play in sudden death for the last bus ride to the semis.
Bottom-dweller UST, which started its campaign with a win before dropping its next eight games, is just looking to end the season on a decent note playing the spoiler's role in its remaining assignments.