Archers, Tams seek to catch Blue Eagles

MANILA, Philippines - The fancied teams start jockeying for position in anticipation of a wild Final Four race with streaking defending champion La Salle and Far Eastern U gunning for a share of the lead against separate rivals today in the UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball tournament at the MOA Arena.

On a six-game roll, the Green Archers train their sights on “Lucky 7” against University of the Philippines (1-7) as they bid to join idle Ateneo (7-2) atop the standings in the 2 p.m. opening game.

For their part, the Tams, who are unbeaten in their last three outings, seek to climb back at No. 1 against struggling University of Santo Tomas (4-4) in the main match at 4 p.m.

La Salle touched off the second round with an 88-86 victory over rival Ateneo last Sunday, unleashing new heroes in Julian Sargent and Robert Bolick who complemented the usual solid efforts of Jeron Teng and Jason Perkins.

The Taft-based cagers loom as the heavy favorites against the Maroons, whose widely-celebrated 77-64 rout of Adamson was cut short by a 48-68 setback to University of the East last Saturday.

“We don’t look at the team (we’re playing). Our attitude is always the same (regardless if we’re up against a contender or not),” said DLSU coach Juno Sauler, whose wards have turned things around after a 0-2 start.

Norbert Torres, Terrence Mustre and Kib Montalbo have returned from sick bay to ease the manpower woes that DLSU dealt with ending the first round. Arnold Van Opstal has rejoined practices and may suit up already.

Veteran Mikee Reyes has found his touch for UP lately, scoring a career-high 28 points in the win over Adamson and following it up with a 19-point production in the loss to UE, prompting coach Rey Madrid to call him “one of the best guards in the league.”

Meanwhile, Tams coach Nash Racela expects his wards to display the same intensity they showed in their 74-70 overtime win over National U last Sunday.

“At this stage, we’re not looking at that (top spot). We’re (taking things on a) ‘per-game’ basis. With the way UAAP is so balanced, this week, you’d be at the top, the following week, after two or three games, maybe you’d slide down to the middle. So you shouldn’t worry about the top position all the time. Like what we’re teaching the players, we have to play above the scoreboard,” he said.

The Tigers barely got past winless Adamson, 61-59, last Saturday to break a three-game skid. But they have already shown they can compete with the Tams. In fact, UST won their first-round meeting, 69-67.