FEU Tamaraws. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
As formidable as Far Eastern University looked all season, there’s no guarantee yet that the Tamaraws will land in the top two of the UAAP men’s basketball elimination round.
And that’s what FEU coach Nash Racela hopes his players keep in mind when the Tamaraws go for the second of three tries to nail the last semifinal bonus Saturday.
But a few things will be making it tough for the Tamaraws. First, they face a rough schedule featuring defending champion National U and the always dangerous La Salle squad. Second, both teams badly need to win to prop their Final Four hopes. And Racela needs his squad to be as driven and as desperate as their looming foes will expectedly be starting with the clash against the Bulldogs today.
“NU needs every game,” said Racela. “If you think about it, they need the win more than we do.”
Game time is set at 4 p.m. at Mall of Asia.
Also coming into play is the 2 p.m. match between Ateneo and University of the East.
An Ateneo win coupled with an FEU loss will keep the last semifinal bonus up for grabs.
Only University of Santo Tomas (11-3) has secured the twice-to-beat incentive given to the top two teams at the end of the elimination round.
An FEU victory will relegate Ateneo to third place regardless of the result of its game versus UE. NU (6-7), La Salle (6-7) and UE (4-8) remain in the hunt for the last semifinal slot.
But an NU triumph will eliminate the Warriors and put pressure on the Archers to win their next assignment just to forge a playoff.
FEU can drop to second place if it loses one of its two remaining matches.