Soaring Eagles gun for Final 4

MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo puts aside the hangover from its big win against rival La Salle as the Blue Eagles shoot for a Final Four berth in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament today.   The Blue Eagles, who claimed solo second after routing the Archers, go for their ninth win versus the struggling University of the East Warriors at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.   “It doesn’t stop here,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black on Sunday. “It’s a big win for us against De La Salle, not just because it helped us in the standings, but because it’s De La Salle. But it’s not going to mean much if we don’t play well on Thursday.”   Adamson, which slipped to third at 7-3, tries to rebound in its 2 p.m. match against a winless University of the Philippines squad reeling from a controversial loss.   Idle Far Eastern University claimed the first Final Four berth over the weekend after the league-leading Tamaraws picked up their ninth win in 10 games.   As the Eagles aim for their 12th straight Final Four appearance, Black expects his wards to continue their unselfish plays.   “Most of our guys get their shots off our ball movement,” Black.  “We average a lot in assists. Everybody’s unselfish, they’re willing to move the basketball, so anybody can have a big night.”   And Ateneo’s American guard Kirk Long got his night against the Archers, sizzling with a career-high 22 points to lead the defending champions to a 74-57 trampling of their bitter foes last Sunday.   UE coach Lawrence Chongson knows it’s tough to halt the Eagles’ six-game winning run, but his Warriors remain focused on their goal.   “We have no other recourse but to win,” said Chongson, whose Warriors share sixth with the University of Santo Tomas at 3-7. “Our backs are against the wall. We know our season is on the line.”   The Warriors found the cohesion lacking in their previous games with a 71-63 stunner over the Falcons last Saturday.   The UE victory spoiled Adamson’s Falcons’ own bid to secure at least a semifinal playoff and also snapped the Falcons’ four-game winning run.   But it’s the Maroons that had a more woeful week as league officials recently dismissed their protest on the game they narrowly lost to the National U Bulldogs, 61-59, aside from slapping a one-game suspension on key cog Alvin Padilla.   The Maroons, winless in 10 games, also lost to season-ending injuries main man Woody Co (high ankle sprain) and Mark Lopez (ACL tear).   In juniors action, Ateneo downed rival La Salle Zobel, 62-50, to stretch its unbeaten run to 12 games on Tuesday night at the FilOil-Flying V Arena.   Kiefer Ravena buried 13 of his 19 points in the second half and Von Pessumal had 11 markers and 13 rebounds to move the Blue Eaglets within two wins if an elimination sweep.