MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U and De La Salle-Zobel hacked out victories in varying fashions to remain tied for the lead while National U subdued University of the East and stayed within striking distance of the joint leaders in the UAAP juniors basketball tournament at the Blue Eagle gym over the weekend.
The Baby Tams thwarted the UST side, 51-48, while the Junior Archers dominated their UP rivals, 78-56, for identical 11-2 slates even as NU held off UE, 57-50, for a 10-2 mark.
The makes the race for the twice-to-beat edge in the Final Four tight with one playdate left in the double round elims.
Ateneo lost to Adamson, 76-61, and although it dropped to 8-5, the team stayed in the hunt for a fourth straight crown. Adamson hiked its record to 6-7, but still way behind the Final Four picture.
FEU and NU face each other in Saturday’s first game at 9 a.m. with the Baby Tams victory will secure them the twice-to-beat advantage.
An FEU win will also guarantee DLS-Z a semis incentive regardless of the outcome of the latter’s match with Ateneo at 1 p.m.
Jerie Pingoy had 26 points with nine rebounds for FEU, which outscored UST, 16-9, in the fourth quarter to clinch the win. Nicko Bahia had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Angelo Latoreno 12 markers and also 12 caroms for UST.
Gabriel Reyes’ topscored for DLS-Zobel with 21 points and seven rebounds while Renzo Subido, who hit three triples and led the team with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in a 56-47 victory over UST two weeks ago, provided the solid back-up with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Bullpups actually trailed in the first three quarters but struck in the final period to beat the Junior Warriors. Norjohn Tendenilla led NU with 12 points, while Raphael Atangan and Paolo Rivero added 11 and 10 points, respectively.