Archers eye crucial win vs Eagles

La Salle guns for the first of two wins it needs to stay in the hunt for the twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four as it clashes with Ateneo today, hoping to make it back-to-back over its arch rival in the penultimate playdate of the UAAP men’s basketball elims at the Araneta Coliseum.

Gametime is at 4 p.m.

The Archers whipped the Eagles, 78-60, in the first round but the defending champions struggled along the way and now found themselves hardpressed to come up with victories over two tough contenders to revive their hopes for a shot at the No. 2 spot.

In contrast, the Eagles, behind the spitfirish LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar, improved a lot better after that rout from the Archers and headed to their last game in the elims with a 10-3 win-loss record in a tie with the idle UE Warriors for second.

With La Salle still at it with an 8-4 mark, the Archers hope to beat the Eagles and the Warriors to force a three-way for second at 10-4. In this case, a playoff among the three teams will be held to determine which team will get the No. 2 spot and the all-important twice-to-beat edge in the semis.

The top spot is already a cinch for Far Eastern U, which is heavily fancied to clinch its 12th win in 14 games against National U at 2 p.m.

Ateneo is coming off a big 69-66 win over FEU and the Eagles will surely go flat out for the No. 2 spot with a victory over La Salle.

Coach Norman Black, however, said beating FEU is a lot different than beating La Salle.

"La Salle is an entirely different team, we expect them to pressure us from minute one to the 48th minute so it’s really going to be different," said Black.

Meanwhile, the UAAP board convenes today in an emergency meeting to discuss the issue involving the eligibility of University of the East guard Bon Bon Custodio.

UAAP secretary-treasurer Dr. Ric Matibag of Adamson confirmed the meeting, set at 9 a.m. at the Casa Español in Manila.

The controversy stemmed from the documents circulated by State U to other board representatives last Friday saying that Custodio got his release papers from Polytechnic University of the Philippines only this year despite serving his residency last year.