Falcons Archers’ target for Final 4

After some minor bumps along the way, La Salle hopes to close in on the leaders – defending champion Far Eastern U and Ateneo – when it meets Adamson today in the 67th UAAP basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

Fresh from a 72-61 win over the Blue Eagles last Sunday, the Green Archers shoot for a seventh win in 11 games that would bring them back into serious contention after going 4-3 in the first round – the team’s worst start since 1998.

La Salle’s woes in the first round started with a stunning loss to University of the East and was followed with another painful defeat to FEU.

Ateneo and FEU are tied for the lead at 8-2 nearing the halfway mark of the second round of the eliminations. Looking at the standings of the eight-team field, nine victories will assure a team of a slot in the Final Four of the league’s 67th season.

The top two teams after the elims will enjoy a decisive twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

Adamson, tied for fifth with University of the Philippines and Santo Tomas at 4-6, will try to get out of the dark, having dropped five of its last six games after a great 3-1 start that was capped by a win over La Salle.

The Falcons are expected to go all out for a repeat over the Archers although they will have to do it without sharp shooter Patrick Cabahug, who is to serve a game suspension for hitting UP’s Marvin Cruz on the face in a game won by the Maroons, 66-55, last Sunday.

Cabahug, nephew of former PBA star Elmer Cabahug, will be sourly missed by the Falcons who earlier lost starting point guard Ramil Tagupa to an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury that was sustained in a game against Ateneo in the first round.

University of the East and Santo Tomas square off at 1:30 p.m. with both teams eyeing important wins. A victory by La Salle might lead to a mad scramble for the last Final Four slot among the teams below the standings.

"Every game counts now so we’ll be going all out for a victory in our remaining games including this one against UE," said UST coach Nel Parado, who is hoping to steer his team to the semis on his first season as head coach.