UAAP ROUNDUP: Junior, women Final Four get going

Ateneo's Marc Frigillana (left) battles UST's Dante Pio Depoda in UAAP taekwondo.

MANILA, Philippines—The UAAP Final Four of juniors and women’s basketball gets going this Friday with Far Eastern University owning the top seed in both divisions.

The Baby Tamaraws, who claimed the No. 1 spot with a 12-2 record, take on defending champion Ateneo at 1 p.m. at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Ranked fourth at 9-5, the Blue Eaglets need to overcome the Baby Tams’ twice-to-beat edge to sustain their bid for a fourth straight crown.

La Salle Zobel (11-3), the No. 2 team also toting a semifinal bonus, clashes with National University (10-4) in the other semifinal encounter at 3 p.m.

The women’s semifinals start at 9 a.m. in the same venue with two-time champion Adamson aiming to finish off University of Santo Tomas.

The top-ranked Lady Tamaraws, also with the twice-to-beat edge after a 12-2 elimination run, battle La Salle at 11 a.m.

Adamson, UST and La Salle actually wound up tied at 10-4 at the end of the eliminations, but the Lady Archers were relegated to fourth due to an inferior quotient.

The Lady Falcons nailed the No. 2 spot and the remaining semifinal edge after downing the Tigresses, 70-59, in a playoff Tuesday at the Blue Eagle Gym.

FEU also had a sensational run in men’s beach volleyball as the Tamaraws earned an outright Finals berth following a seven-game sweep of the eliminations.

Three other teams will dispute the right to face the Tamaraws in a step-ladder semifinals starting this weekend with No. 2 UST (5-2) and No. 3 University of the Philippines (3-4) clashing first at the UE Caloocan sand courts.

In badminton, No. 4 Ateneo claimed the last title berth after overcoming rival La Salle’s twice-to-beat edge, 3-0, in the men’s competition.