Tams, Falcons seek tie with Tigers at 3rd

Defending champion Far Eastern U and Adamson take on separate rivals today, each hoping to score a victory and force a tie for the No. 3 spot with idle UST in the penultimate play date in the eliminations of the 69th UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

But while the Falcons are fancied to get past the NU Bulldogs in the 2 p.m. opener, the Tams are expected to encounter stiff resistance from the Ateneo Eagles (9-1) in the 4 p.m. main game.

Adamson and FEU tote identical 5-6 marks and would catch the Tigers (6-6) at third place with victories over the Bulldogs and the Eagles, respectively.

It’s a must win for FEU coach Bert Flores, whose Tams will try to avoid becoming the first team since the Final Four format was introduced to fail to advance to the semis after winning the crown the previous year.

Adamson, on the other hand, said it could not afford to be overconfident against NU.

In case of a triple tie, the team with the highest quotient will clinch No. 3 with the two others to dispute the last spot in a playoff.

Ateneo and UE (7-4) enjoy twice-to-beat incentives in the semis by taking the top two spots.