MANILA, Philippines – Adamson University hopes to complete the Final Four cast of the UAAP Season 79 men's basketball tournament when it takes on University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
At 6-5, a victory by Adamson will assure the Falcons of a berth in the Final Four for the first time since 2011.
The Falcons breathed new life into their UAAP campaign after stunning second-ranked Far Eastern University (FEU), 61-59, last Sunday at the Arena in San Juan.
A loss by the Falcons will keep National University and University of the Philippines (UP) in the Final 4 race, but Adamson is favored to overcome a UST team that is already eliminated. The Falcons defeated the Growling Tigers, 79-52, when they met in the first round.
Pumaren, seeking to steer Adamson to the Final Four in just his first year in charge, is not getting ahead of himself, however.
"We have to take care of our own destiny," he stressed. "We don't look at the other team standings. Our destiny is in our hands. We just have to take it one game at a time."
A year after making it to the UAAP Finals, the Growling Tigers have struggled with only three wins to show in 12 games. Their loss to UP last Sunday formally eliminated them from the playoff race.
Game time is at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University will try to build on its stunning upset of De La Salle University when the Blue Eagles play the FEU Tamaraws at 2 p.m.
Ateneo became the first team to beat La Salle after they stunned the Green Archers, 83-71, last Saturday to improve to 7-4 and stay in contention for a twice-to-beat bonus in the semifinals.
FEU's loss to Adamson on Sunday, which snapped the Tamaraws' seven-game winning streak, further boosted the Blue Eagles' chances.
"One game at a time," Ateneo's Thirdy Ravena said after their win over La Salle. "This is a great win for us, but it's also just one win. There are still a few more games that we have to win. It's not gonna do anything if we lose our following games, so we have to prepare for our next games."
Ateneo beat FEU, 76-71, when they played in the first round and will surely be in high spirits heading into Wednesday's rematch.
"We just have to prepare for them," FEU coach Nash Racela said. "They played a really disciplined game against La Salle. We'll prepare."
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