Duel of the UAAP best Tams rarin’ to avenge lone defeat to Tigers

Games today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

2 p.m. – UE vs AdU

4 p.m. – FEU vs UST

MANILA, Philippines – Streaking Far Eastern U seeks payback against the team responsible for its lone loss so far – University of Santo Tomas – today in a livewire showdown between the two top squads in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tourney at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Tams and the Tigers face off anew after nearly two months. They had an early clash in the first round last Sept. 9 with the UST cagers pulling off a 72-71 victory. Since then, the Tams have rattled off nine consecutive triumphs for 10-1 overall to easily advance to the Final Four while the Tigers (9-3) had their own streak to follow suit.

“Our battlecry is we try to win every game regardless of the standing,” said FEU coach Nash Racela.

The Tams are actually going for a “double” in their 4 p.m. encounter: Not only will they get back at their first-round tormentors but with a win, FEU will also claim a twice-to-beat semis advantage with two games to spare.

“We’ll try to split (the two elims games) this season like we did last season. The goal is to win this game, prepare for UST’s main players Kevin Ferrer, Ed Daquioag, Karim Abdul and Marvin Lee,” said Racela.

The semis-bound Tigers (9-3) have somehow struggled lately, losing two of their last three games.  The latest,  a stinging 77-91 loss to University of the East last Wednesday, further stalled their bid for the Final Four bonus.

“We were down after the last game so we have to improve next time and prepare to win against FEU,” said UST mentor Bong dela Cruz, whose wards suddenly found themselves just a game ahead of third-running Ateneo (8-4).

Dela Cruz challenged his crew to bounce back after a generally flat performance versus UE. “Karim was the only one who played well that time so everybody needs to step up (against FEU).” 

Meanwhile, the UE Warriors (4-7) seek to build on their huge upset over the Tigers as they look to keep their semis hopes alive in their 2 p.m. duel with the ousted Adamson Falcons (2-10).

“We know we have at least a chance to get there (semis) so we’ll just try to stay alive, take it one game at a time,” said UE’s Derrick Pumaren.

“We can’t be complacent, can’t be too happy with this win (over UST); we just got our fourth win but we’re still not there. We’re playing Adamson next and we know how dangerous Adamson is so we can’t afford to take the team for granted,” he added.

The Falcons are out of it all but coach Mike Fermin said they want to end the season on a “respectable note.”