MANILA, Philippines - University of the East and Far Eastern University clash today in sudden death for the right to face Ateneo in this year’s UAAP men’s basketball finals with the Warriors enjoying the momentum over the Tams still reeling from the ouster of their top player.
Drawing a superb, all around game from Paul Lee and pouncing on the absence of Mark Barroca, the third seeded Warriors tamed the No. 2 Tams, 84-74, in their Final Four duel last Saturday to force a knockout for the second finals berth.
Gametime is at 3:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.
The defending champion Eagles sealed the first championship berth by blasting the University of Santo Tomas Tigers, 81-64, in the other Final Four pairing last Sunday.
With Lee churning out a career-best 26-point performance, the Warriors dominated the Tams minus Barroca, who was dropped from the roster for good on game-fixing allegations following a drop in his performance towards the end of the elims.
But UE coach Lawrence Chongson said the win would be meaningless if they couldn’t finish their rivals off with another victory today.
“Our win last Saturday would mean nothing if we can’t pull it off again today,” said Chongson, who moved the team closer to what could be the school’s only second finals stint in 23 seasons.
“FEU just struggled that day because it was their first game without Barroca,” said Chongson.
FEU coach Glenn Capacio is expected to come up with key adjustments although the Tams will be one less player more as veteran guard Jens Knuttel sustained a torn meniscus and is out of the season.
“I’m sure they have made the necessary adjustments. They simply have too many options in their game,” Chongson said.
Barroca, currently with Smart Gilas Pilipinas playing the Singapore Slingers in Singapore, was the Tams’ top scorer with norm of 12.7 points he spiked with 5.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals. Knuttel averaged only 1.3 points, 0.7 rebound and 0.6 assist but had been one of the team’s top playmakers the whole season.
But Chongson said the loss of the controversial Barroca and the sturdy Knuttel are only two of the Warriors problems in their match against the Tamaraws.
“Knuttel is the least of my worries. It’s (Paul) Sanga, (Aldrech) Ramos, (Reil) Cervantes, (RR) Garcia, (JR) Cawaling and Noundou,” he said.
Focus will also be on Lee, who pumped 22 of his total output in the second half, including 14 in the fourth quarter when he single-handedly buried the demoralized Tams.
“We need to improve on our defense, that’s the most important thing we need to do,” said Capacio.
FEU is gunning for a seventh finals appearance while UE its second since the Final Four format was introduced 15 years ago.
Interestingly, FEU is the league’s winningest team with 19 while UE and UST have 18 apiece. La Salle comes next with seven crowns while Ateneo has won four titles so far.