Stags-Falcons, Tigers-Knights KO matches up

MANILA, Philippines — University of Santo Tomas and Letran, who fell short in the finals of the country’s top two collegiate leagues, knock each other out in a Sweet 16 match of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League Sunday at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The winner of the 4 p.m. showdown  goes up against the survivor of the San Sebastian-Adamson earlier at 2 p.m. for the right to secure the last Final Four berth.

Southwestern University nailed the third Final Four slot by topping the Southern Islands leg over University of Visayas early in the week. The first two semifinal berths have been conceded to UAAP champion Ateneo and NCAA winner San Beda.

Kicking off the doubleheader is the first “Game of Junior Champs” pitting NCAA juniors titlist San Beda and Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) winner Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu at 12 noon.

Proceeds of this week’s high school exhibition matches, which also features UAAP juniors champion Far Eastern University, will go to ABS-CBN Foundation’s “Kapit Bisig Para Sa Ilog Pasig” project.

The Tigers got swept by five-time champion Ateneo in the UAAP finals while the Knights bowed to  three-time NCAA titlist San Beda in a series that reached full distance.

The Falcons aim to ride on a six-game winning roll, starting from their 3-0 sweep of the Metro Manila qualifier.

Last Thursday, the Falcons stunned UAAP semifinalist La Salle, 63-56, in Cebu City to advance in the stepladder phase of the Luzon-Metro Manila leg.