Adamson (9-4), Far Eastern University (8-4) and University of Santo Tomas (7-5) still have a chance of nailing the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four, and there’s a possibility of even a three-way tie for second at 9-5 at the end of the eliminations.
“We lost the No. 2 spot [midway in the eliminations], but now we have a chance again,” said FEU coach Bert Flores. “We have to embrace it and we shouldn’t let this chance slip away.”
Ateneo (13-0) has a lock on the No. 1 seed and the first twice-to-beat edge, whether or not it completes a 14-game elimination sweep.
In case of a three-way tie at No. 2, the quotient system will be used to break the deadlock among the Falcons, Tamaraws and Tigers, according to the league’s official statistician, Imperium Technology and Smart Bro Monday.
The team with the lowest quotient will drop to fourth, while the two other squads will battle in a playoff for the No. 2 spot.
“I think we have the momentum,” said UST mentor Pido Jarencio. “We’ve been coming out strong and the teamwork is there.”
Only Ateneo, Adamson and FEU, though, have secured Final Four berths as La Salle (5-7) can still tie UST for the last semifinal berth.
If the Tigers drop their last two assignments and the Archers win their final two, both teams will finish the eliminations tied and must dispute the No. 4 spot in a playoff.
Meanwhile, UST guard Jeric Teng earned the Accel-3XVI UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week honor presented by Gatorade after powering the Tigers in crucial wins.
Teng, the son of former PBA cager Alvin Teng, fired 20 points on top of eight rebounds and six assists in the Tigers’ 74-58 upset of the Falcons over the weekend.