Ateneo, FEU renew feud; SBC vs AdU

MANILA, Philippines - A familiar playoff rival in De La Salle University already dispatched in the previous stage, Far Eastern U is now faced with a bigger stumbling block to its quest for glory  Ateneo.

The Tamaraws lock horns with the Blue Eagles, their tormentor in last season’s UAAP cage wars, in a keenly-awaited knockout Final Four match in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Preseason Premier Cup at the Flying V Arena today.

“It’s another acid test for us,” FEU coach Bert Flores said of the Tams’ Final Four dance with Ateneo at 4 pm.

The Tams have so far been the best-performing team in the pre-season league, sweeping all eight assignments in Group B then in Monday’s KO quarterfinals, eked out a 73-68 win over the Archers – the same team they defeated on their way to that UAAP title showdown with Ateneo.

But just like that UAAP campaign, FEU knows a hot start won’t necessary guarantee success. Especially when an opponent armed with championship poise like AdMU stands in the way.

“They (Eagles) have championship experience, they have good recruits like Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena, and they have a good system under an experienced coach,” Flores said. 

“As for us, we just have to play solid defense and maximize our advantage at the point, especially with RR Garcia playing like a true MVP,” he added.

One thing going for FEU, admitted AdMU mentor Norman Black, is that the Eagles are not too familiar with the Tams’ system under returning coach Flores and staff that includes Johnny Abarrientos and Vic Pablo.

“We were in the States when FEU played most of its games here so we’re unfamiliar. We haven’t watched them play yet this summer so we’ll just rely on tapes to study them,” said Black, whose crew advanced to the semis via a 63-56 drubbing of Mapua in the quarters.

“It would surely be a tough game in the semifinals for us,” the multi-titled mentor added.

The Eagles’ counterpart in the NCAA, San Beda Red Lions, gun for a championship berth on their end, as they slug it out with the Adamson Falcons in the other Final Four outing at 2 p.m. 

The Lions, topnotchers in Group A, got their expected spot in the semis by crushing University of the Philippines, 97-68, while the Falcons advanced after ousting last year’s titlist San Sebastian, 90-81.