ARCHERS, MAROONS MAG-AAGAWAN SA 3RD  FINAL 4 SLOT

Mga laro ngayon:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

2 p.m. – Ateneo vs UST (Men)

4 p.m. – UP vs DLSU (Men)

PAG-AAGAWAN ng University of the Philippines at ng La Salle ang isa sa dalawang nalalabing semifinals berths sa UAAP men’s basketball tournament ngayon sa Mall of Asia Arena.

Napakahalaga ng 4 p.m. clash para sa Fighting Maroons,  na umaasang mawawakasan ang 21-year Final Four drought sa pagkumpleto sa head-to-head elimination round sweep sa Green Archers.

Ang mananalo sa UP-La Salle match ay makukuha ang No. 3 ranking at makakasagupa ang twice-to-beat Adamson sa semifinals sa susunod na weekend.

“We are not stopping there. The end of this is we really would want to compete with the best,” wika ni coach Bo Perasol, na ang Maroons ay umaasang mauulit ang kanilang 67-61  panalo laban sa Archers sa first round.

“That’s what we stand for. We wanted to be excellent. We wanted to be honorable.”

Sa unang laro sa alas-2 ng hapon ay magsasagupa ang defending champion Ateneo at ang sibak nang University of Santo To-mas sa isang ‘no-bearing’ match.

Sakaling magkaroon ng triple tie sa 8-6 sa pagitan ng UP, La Salle at Far Eastern University sa pagtatapos ng eliminations, awtomatikong makukuha ng Maroons ang No. 3 dahil sa superior quotient, at maglalaban ang Tamaraws at Archers sa do-or-die match para sa huling Final Four slot.

“The mindset is, if we win on Wednesday, alam namin agad na Adamson ang kalaban,” ani La Salle mentor Louie Gonzalez.

“The first thing that I told the boys when I went to the dugout is we have to move forward and take care of business on Wednesday,” sabi pa ni Gonzalez. “Coming to the game on Wednesday, we really need to work hard para makuha namin iyon.”

Ang huling pagkakataon na nakalagpas ang UP sa eliminations ay noong 1997.

“I think the advantage of La Salle is they are used in this kind of situations. Our focus is that we are going to learn as fast as we could playing with everything at stake. But I have trust in what I see in my players, their desire, their persistence, their beliefs in what we can do together,” ani Perasol.