Eagles fan drive for 'incentive' vs Bulldogs

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo zeroes in on the twice-to-beat advantage while Far Eastern U goes for the second Final Four berth as they take on National U and Adamson, respectively, in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Eagles clinched the first semifinal berth by blasting the Univ. of Santo Tomas Tigers, 80-70, last Saturday for a league-best 9-1 record. They are heavily favored to hurdle the Bulldogs, in the bottom with a 2-8 mark, in their 4 p.m. encounter.

The Tams could have joined the Loyola-based cagers in the Final Four but the University of the East Warriors spoiled their bid with an 82-72 victory also last Saturday.

The loss snapped FEU’s eight-win streak, the longest in the season, although the Tams, with an 8-2 card, hopes to get the job done this time against the Falcons at 2 p.m.

“We’ll try again but we need to work hard to achieve it,” said FEU coach Glenn Capacio.

But Adamson, tied with a resurgent UP side for sixth at 3-7, is expected to go all out for a victory as the Falcons try to come up with a big follow-up to their 79-50 rout of the Bulldogs that kept their flickering semis hopes alive.

“There’s still hope, we can’t give up right now,” said Adamson coach Leo Austria.