UNIVERSITY of the East faces a tough task to halt its second round struggles as it seeks to secure one of remaining two Final Four berths against also-ran Ateneo today in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.

The Red Warriors, who are eyeing to clinch their first Final Four appearance since 2009, will face the Blue Eagles without Nigerian slotman Precious Momowei in the 6:30 p.m. contest.

Momowei was suspended for two unsportsmanlike fouls he committed in UE’s 67-76 loss to University of Santo Tomas last Saturday.

The Red Warriors were able to hung on third place despite having a 1-4 second round, holding a 6-6 record overall, just half-a-game ahead of the Growling Tigers (6-7).

UE and UST are trying to fend off Adamson (5-7) and Far Eastern University (5-8) in the chase for the last two Final Four slots.

National University (4-9) and Ateneo (3-9) were already eliminated in the Final Four race.

Defending champion La Salle (12-1) and University of the Philippines (9-3) are assured of finishing at 1-2 at the end of elimination round and will hold twice-to-beat advantages in the Final Four.

The Green Archers, who will finish No. 1 in the elims for the first time since their 2016 championship run, play the Bulldogs in a warm-up to the Final Four at 12 noon.

NU, which lost Malian slotman Mo Diassana to a season-ending injury in a 75-78 opening weekend loss to La Salle, will miss the Final Four for the first time in four seasons. The Bulldogs had back-to-back third place finishes in the last two seasons.

The Blue Eagles saw their streak of nine consecutive Final Four appearances came to an end after the Growling Tigers beat the Red Warriors last Saturday. Ateneo last missed the Final Four in 2013.

If they could get the job done against the Blue Eagles, the Red Warriors will have another shot to bag the elusive win No. 7 against the Fighting Maroons on Nov. 23, a make-up from the postponed Oct. 23 duel due to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

“Hindi naman kami bago doon sa ganoon. Remember last season na we faced Ateneo without an FSA also. Ang maganda lang diyan sa nakita namin last Saturday is that we saw the other players stepping up. Hopefully, by next game, madala pa rin nila ‘yon,” UE coach Jack Santiago said.

Another match-up to watch out is the UST-Adamson showdown on Saturday that could potentially decide the two teams’ Final Four fate.

In the lone women’s match, NU seeks to hurdle one of remaining stumbling blocks to secure an outright passage to the Finals in an already-eliminated La Salle at 12 noon. The Lady Bulldogs are undefeated in 12 games and have already clinched a twice-to-beat bonus in a Final Four format.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado