Junior Warriors near slims sweep; Baby Tams enter semis

Games on Saturday (Filoil EcOil Centre)
8 a.m. - NU vs FEU (women)
10 a.m. - DLSU vs UST (women)
12 p.m. - AdU vs Ateneo (women)
2 p.m. - UP vs UE (women)
5:30 p.m. - AdU vs Ateneo (men)

MANILA, Philippines — Top-ranked University of the East zeroed in on an elimination-round sweep, while Far Eastern University-Diliman clinched the second Final Four ticket with convincing victories against separate foes in the UAAP Season 87 junior high school basketball tourney.

Neil Garcia fired 16 points as the playoff-bound Junior Warriors pummeled University of the Philippines-Integrated School, 95-65, for a 12-0 slate and a possible outright finals ticket with pending matches against FEU and Adamson.

“Hindi pwede na may slow starts kami ‘eh. Dapat we have to play consistently as I’ve said. We’re in the latter part of the season and everything should be taken into consideration na small mistakes would lead you to losing. We just have to play consistent kasi all the teams will fight for their lives to beat us,” UE head coach Andrew Estrella said.

Meanwhile, FEU followed UE to the postseason by stunning inaugural champion National U-Nazareth School (5-7), 78-61, for a 9-2 record.

Duke Santos led the Baby Tamaraws with 15 points, eight rebounds, two assists and one steal; while Anton Lopez tallied 14 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.

In other games, University of Santo Tomas (8-4) shored up its Final Four drive with an 82-65 win over Adamson (2-9), while Ateneo stayed in the race after a 74-65 win over La Salle (5-6).

Most Valuable Player race leader Zane Kallos collared a monstrous triple-double of 25 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists as Blue Eagles’ big win propelled them to a tie with the Junior Archers for the last semifinal spot.

Jhon Canapi reset his own tournament scoring record with 38 points on seven triples laced by six rebounds, five assists, and two steals to show the way for the Tiger Cubs.