ATENEO hopes to hit two birds in one stone as the defending champions seek to secure the remaining Final Four berth today in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Blue Eagles need to beat University of the East at 11 a.m. and hope that National University, which is going for a twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four, prevail over Adamson in the 6 p.m. match to complete the cast.

Ateneo currently sits in solo fourth with a 6-6 record.

The Blue Eagles’ 62-58 victory over the Falcons last Sunday could be saved their roller-coaster season.

“You only need to look at the big picture that you see thar it is a huge win. Adamson is still in the hunt but you know tough game now against NU. As I said before the season, they (Bulldogs) are really a tough team. So is Adamson, that’s gonna be a hell of a game,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.

“But I think, if we don’t win today (Sunday), I think we have to rely at the other people then. But right now, our destiny is still in our own hands and that’s where you want to keep it. We just now look at UE and make sure we don’t have a letdown and come out like Joe (Obasa) said. You know, we have to earn the right to continue playing this season and nothing has been easy for teams this season,” he added.

The Blue Eagles are not taking the Red Warriors for granted even without Senegalese center Precious Momowei, who is serving a one-game suspension for accumulating his second unsportsmanlike foul this season.

Momowei was called for an unsportsmanlike foul on Kevin Quiambao at the 6:43 mark of the second quarter during UE’s 76-86 setback to La Salle last Sunday.

With a 4-8 slate and their Final Four fate not entirely in their hands, a loss will eliminate the Red Warriors for the 12th straight season.

“This is a tough season this year. Well, the standings might not have a lot of surprises on where the teams are. The actual games themselves have told an entirely differently story than what the standings are showing,” said Baldwin.

“It is made for a great season but we gotta do our job to get into the second season (Final Four) and see what we can do if we get there,” he added.

With La Salle, which is playing also-ran Far Eastern University at 4 p.m., still very much in the race for the two twice-to-beat slots in the Final Four, joint leaders University of the Philippines and NU are trying to fend off the league’s hottest team.

The Fighting Maroons are facing last-place University of Santo Tomas at 1 p.m., while the Bulldogs are taking Adamson in the nightcap.

La Salle has won six straight matches for a 9-3 slate in third spot, as it only trails UP and NU, both sporting 10-2 cards, by a game.

“The good thing about our situation is that yung destiny namin, nasa kamay pa namin ngayon. Wala pa kami sa sitwasyon na umaasa kami sa iba,” said Fighting Maroons assistant coach Christian Luanzon.

“So we take care of business in the next two games then obviously that twice-to-beat is, no question na. Yun ang focus namin. But si coach Goldwin (Monteverde), for sure, he is always process-oriented, never result-driven. This is something that he addresses also to our team,” he added.

“Meaning, we prepare extensively, we execute it on the floor and then we trust the Lord for the outcome. As long as we know from our hearts that talagang ibinigay namin ang best effort namin on the floor. Not only from an effort standpoint but also on execution standpoint.”

Bracing a desperate Falcons side trying to save their season, the Bulldogs are trying their best to elevate the level of play several notches higher.

“Kahit paano, Adamson is still a strong team. We will be ready. We will be prepared against them. Yun nga, meron kaming tinatarget na goal patapos nitong second round para maging pabor sa amin yung mapuntang goal na gusto talaga namin,” said NU coach Jeff Napa.

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