INQUIRER Sports

W L
 Ateneo 13 1
 Far Eastern 11 2
 UE 10 4
 UST 6 8
 Adamson 5 9
 La Salle 5 9
 National U 3 11
 UP 3 11

GAME SATURDAY (Araneta Coliseum)
3:30 p.m.?FEU vs UE

MANILA, Philippines ? With one improbable comeback, Ateneo deftly applied the finishing touches to its march to the top spot.

The Blue Eagles completed the biggest rally of the season as they squeaked past the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in a 74-73 thriller that locked up the No. 1 seed in the UAAP men?s basketball tournament Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Struggling all game long, reigning MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini delivered the defending champions from an 18-point deficit and straight into a favorable showdown against gasping University of Santo Tomas in the Final Four.

?Our mission is accomplished as far as getting the No. 1 spot,? said Ateneo coach Norman Black after the Blue Eagles wrapped up the elimination round with 10 straight victories for a league-best 13-1 record.

Al-Hussaini nailed the game-clinching layup off a drop-pass from Eric Salamat to give the Eagles a 74-72 edge with 14.3 seconds remaining.

Reil Cervantes, fetching a foul from Al-Hussaini with only 2.1 seconds left, had a chance to tow the Tamaraws to overtime but missed the second of his two free throws to seal FEU?s doom.

?We were really in a battle tonight against FEU,? added Black. ?It took us a long time to get our bearings. They played the zone most of the game and we didn?t do very well against it. But we seem to execute better down the stretch. We started making some outside shots which really helped us a great deal.?

The Eagles own a twice-to-beat advantage when they battle the fourth-ranked Tigers, who will show up for the Final Four on a three-game slide, next Sunday.

?Bottomline is we wanted to have the confidence going into the semifinals,? said Black. ?We don?t want to be coming off a loss because that makes it more difficult to bounce back. ?

The Tamaraws, settling at second place at 11-3, also just need one win to advance against the third-ranked University of the East (10-4) in the other semifinal pairing on Saturday.

Eric Salamat paced the Eagles with 20 points, while Jai Reyes pumped in nine of his 13 markers in the final period to help the Eagles recover from a 15-point deficit, 42-57, at the start of the fourth quarter.

Nonoy Baclao, who sat out Ateneo?s last game due to injury, also came through at both ends with 12 points on top of a game-high 18 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.

The Eagles, still trailing at 61-50, orchestrated a 12-2 run capped by a Reyes triple to wrest the lead for the first time since the opening quarter, 62-61, with 4:28 left.

Earlier, the Adamson Falcons closed out their campaign with a 74-61 triumph over the University of the Philippines Maroons.

Adamson and La Salle wound up with similar 5-9 records, but the Falcons claimed the fifth spot due to a superior quotient.

In juniors action, the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs claimed the remaining semifinal bonus with an 11-3 record after pulling off a 65-60 upset over the league-leading La Salle Zobel Junior Archers Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The fourth-ranked Baby Tamaraws also forged an 84-80 stunner over the defending champion Blue Eaglets, who settled for the third spot at 10-4.

Terrence Romeo, who shattered the league record with 83 points, paced the Baby Tams anew with 50 markers on top of 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Junior Archers (12-2) will head into the Final Four toting a twice-to-beat advantage against the Baby Tamaraws. The Tiger Cubs similarly own a semifinal incentive against the Eaglets in the other duel.

Meanwhile, UP shoots for a third straight crown in the cheerdance competition at 2 p.m. today also at the Big Dome.

The Tamaraws surged ahead by as many as 13 points in the opening quarter at 23-9 as the Eagles struggled from the field with a 14.3 percent shooting clip.

The scores:
First Game
ADAMSON 74?Camson 13, Colina 12, Canuday 11, Nuyles 10, Galinato 6, Alvarez 5, Margallo 4, Lozada 4, Cañada 4, Cabrera 3, Lapitan 2, Peñalosa 0, Sandoval 0, Ruiz 0, Basilio 0.
UP 61?Co 13, Braganza 10, Reyes 8, Juruena 5, Astorga 5, Padilla 4, Lopez 4, Reyes 3, Gamboa 3, Sison 2, Maniego 2, De Asis 2, Marfori 0, Gomez 0, Gingerich 0.
Quarters: 16-21, 36-32, 57-46, 74-61
Second Game

ATENEO 74?Salamat 20, Reyes 13, Buenafe 12, Baclao 12, Al-Hussaini 7, Monfort 6, Long 4, Sumalinog 0, Salva 0, Chua 0, Austria 0.
FEU 73?Sanga 19, Ramos 16, Garcia 8, Barroca 8, Cervantes 7, Cawaling 6, Tanuan 4, Knuttel 4, Vinluan 1, Caluag 0.
Quarters: 11-22, 32-35, 42-57, 74-73