Juniors Archers clinch semis berth

De La Salle-Zobel turned back University of Santo Tomas, 72-65, to clinch the remaining Final Four berth in the UAAP Season 79 juniors basketball tournament Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

Joaqui Mariano had 17 points and six rebounds while Jan Sobrevega added 14 markers and four boards for the Junior Archers.

De La Salle-Zobel will take on defending champion National University in a rematch of last season’s Finals next week.

Later, Far Eastern University-Diliman rallied from 16 points down to beat Ateneo 64-62, and clinch the second seed in the playoffs.

Holding the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four, the Bullpups and the Baby Tamaraws need only to win once to advance in the best-of-three title series.

Jack Gloria was solid for FEU-Diliman with 14 points, 13 rebounds and three steals while Kenji Roman and Ron Abarrientos chipped in 10 points apiece.

SJ Belangel had 23 points, six rebounds and four assists but turned the ball over six times for the Blue Eaglets.
CJ Cansino, showing promise for the Tiger Cubs, produced 17 points and 12 rebounds in a valiant effort.