MANILA, Philippines – The dust is starting to clear around the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball Final Four picture as what was once a six-team rumble is now a two-squad race between UE and Adamson ahead of the elimination round’s final week starting Wednesday, November 20.
Bungling chance after chance after chance, the reeling Red Warriors still need just one elusive win to clinch their first semifinal appearance since 2009, but have surprisingly been unable to do so in the midst of what is now a three-game losing skid.
Seemingly being punished by the fates for failing to capitalize on its openings, UE must now head to the Wednesday slate at the FilOil EcoOil Centre and beat the second-seeded UP Fighting Maroons, who have shown no desire to be a mere doormat after ending the Final Four dream of the FEU Tamaraws.
The Red Warriors’ scenario is simple: win and get in, or lose and fall to a possible fourth-seed playoff against the Soaring Falcons. No math will be applied in the event of a UE win and a 7-7 record since third-seeded UST (7-7) has swept its two-game elimination round series against the Red Warriors.
While UE, despite all its late-season shortcomings, still has a lease on life regardless of result, the same cannot be said for fifth-ranked Adamson, which will be outright eliminated should it fail against another proud program: the last-placed, yet ever-dangerous Ateneo Blue Eagles on Saturday, November 23.
Carrying a 5-8 card, the Soaring Falcons have no choice but to hike up its record one last time and hope that UE falls victim to UP on Wednesday. Otherwise, Adamson’s Saturday showdown will be reduced to a consolation battle for pride between two eliminated teams.
Both teams cannot afford to lose — metaphorically for UE and literally for Adamson — which can only mean a must-watch final week for fans of both universities.
If their last matches were any indication, Katipunan neighbors UP and Ateneo likewise have no indication to taste defeat despite both no longer having anything to play for in their final elimination-round assignments.
Will UE finally break its slump and complete the Final Four crew, or will Adamson have a fresh shot at disrupting another seemingly set cast of semis protagonists? – Rappler.com