S87 Basketball: La Salle-NU, UE-Ateneo matchups set

UAAP Season 87 First Semester Basketball Standings

Standings W L

Men

Women

JHS

Games on Wednesday, November 13, 2024
(UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena)
8 a.m. – UST vs NUNS (JHS)
10 a.m. – DLSZ vs UPIS (JHS)
12 noon – DLSU vs NU (Women)
2 p.m. – DLSU vs NU (Men)
6:30 p.m. – UE vs Ateneo (Men)

UNIVERSITY of the East faces a tough task to halt its second round struggles as it seeks to secure one of remaining two Final Four berths against also-ran Ateneo on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.

The Red Warriors, who are eyeing to clinch their first Final Four appearance since UAAP Season 72 (2009), will face the Blue Eagles without Nigerian slotman Precious Momowei in the 6:30 p.m. contest.

If they cannot get the job done against the Blue Eagles, the Red Warriors will have another shot to bag  win No. 7 against the Fighting Maroons, a make-up from the postponed Oct. 23 duel.

Momowei was suspended for two unsportsmanlike fouls he committed in UE's 67-76 loss to University of Santo Tomas last Saturday.

Red Warriors head coach Jack Santiago hopes that his team will rally around Momowei for this pivotal tilt.

“Hindi naman kami bago don sa ganon. Remember last season na we faced Ateneo without an FSA also. Ang maganda lang diyan sa nakita namin last Saturday is that we saw the other players stepping up. Hopefully, by next game, madala pa rin nila ‘yon," he said.

"Remember, nung hindi pa nato-thrown out si Precious, we went All-Filipino. So at least nakita natin kahit papaano na naka-recover yung team. ‘Yon lang siguro yung medyo i-eembrace namin na we’re gonna practice on Monday without Precious muna just to be ready.”

The Red Warriors were able to hung on third place despite having a 1-4 second round, sporting a 6-6 record overall, just half-a-game ahead of the Growling Tigers (6-7).

UE and UST are trying to fend off Adamson University (5-7) and Far Eastern University (5-8) in the chase for the last two Final Four slots.

National University (4-9) and Ateneo (3-9) were already eliminated in the Final Four race.

Defending champion De La Salle (12-1) and University of the Philippines (9-3) are assured of finishing at 1-2 at the end of elimination round and will hold twice-to-beat advantages in the Final Four.

The Green Archers, who will finish No. 1 in the elims for the first time since their 2016 championship run, play the Bulldogs in a warm-up to the Final Four at 12 noon.

NU, which lost Malian slotman Mo Diassana to a season-ending injury in a 75-78 opening weekend loss to La Salle, will miss the Final Four for the first time in four seasons. The Bulldogs had back-to-back third place finishes in the last two seasons.

The Blue Eagles saw their streak of nine consecutive Final Four appearances come to an end after the Growling Tigers beat the Red Warriors last Saturday. Ateneo last missed the Final Four in 2013.

In the lone women's match, NU seeks to hurdle one of remaining stumbling blocks to secure an outright passage to the Finals in an already-eliminated De La Salle at 12 noon. The Lady Bulldogs are undefeated in 12 games and have already clinched a twice-to-beat bonus in a Final Four format.

Opening the five-game playdate is a double-header in the junior high school basketball tournament, where University of Santo Tomas looks to retain its winning form against reigning champion National University Nazareth School at 8 a.m.

A win by the Bullpups would propel them to solo third place in the standings, while a victory for the Tiger Cubs would further strengthen their Final Four bid.

The other juniors’ match features De La Salle Zobel and a winless University of the Philippines side at 10 a.m.

The Junior Archers, who are coming off a slim 79-83 loss to the FEU-D Baby Tamaraws, look to return to the winning column and eliminate the Fighting Maroons from contention.

(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team