Archers, Tams seek No. 1 spot

THE ARCHERS have been soaring behind star forward Jeron Teng, who is expected to play a key role against the Tams. ARNOLD ALMACEN

La Salle hopes to stay on a roll against a Far Eastern University side that it thinks has grown even more dangerous in the second round of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

The Green Archers vie to stretch their winning streak to eight while the Tamaraws try to complete an elimination sweep of the defending champions as the two hot squads dispute the solo lead in the tight clash at 4 p.m. today at Mall of Asia Arena.

“Even if we’ve grown as a team now that we’re in the second round, FEU is a lot stronger also compared to how we played them in the first round,” said La Salle coach Juno Sauler.

In the first game, University of Santo Tomas hopes to boost its faltering Final Four bid versus an out-of-it University of the Philippines at 2 p.m.

Both the Archers and the Tamaraws rose to a share of the lead at 7-2 after National University spoiled Ateneo’s own bid to claim the solo No. 1 spot last Sunday. Both the Bulldogs and the Eagles wound up sharing the third spot at 7-3.

But instead of looking too far ahead, Sauler wants his Archers to keep their focus on the gameplan following a lackluster start in their 86-65 rout of the Maroons last Saturday.

“We didn’t like the way we started,” said Sauler. “The lack of mental concentration, it’s unacceptable.”

For the Tamaraws, though, it’s their sharp focus that they want to keep as they go for a repeat of their first-round tripping of the Archers, 82-77

“We hope to sustain our teamwork and defense,” said forward Roger Pogoy, who topscored with 19 points in their 66-55 ripping of the Tigers last Saturday.

FEU coach Nash Racela also expects a tougher battle against the Archers, who sustained their streak behind Jeron Teng despite a spate of injuries on other key players.

“It’s scary because they (Archers) are almost complete now,” said Racela, who’s banking on Mac Belo and Mike Tolomia.