Archers boost Final 4 bid, shut door on Falcons

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning champion La Salle strengthened its Final Four bid after eliminating Adamson, 84-69, in the UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

A blazing 48-26 first-half surge propelled the Green Archers to a wire-to-wire win, improving to 7-5 and tying host Far Eastern University at third to fourth place with only two games left in the two-round eliminations.

National University and UP, both at 9-3, have already secured semifinal berths, but the race for a Top 2 finish and the twice-to-beat advantage remains wide open.

With their eighth loss against La Salle’s seventh win, the Soaring Falcons (5-8) crashed out of contention, as they can only reach a maximum of six wins.

La Salle got the job done behind Jacob Cortez, who is slowly but surely regaining his fine form after a knee injury in the first round. Cortez finished with 15 points, four rebounds, four steals, and two assists.

Later, Mark Llemit and Amiel Acido connived with 20 and 19 points, respectively, as Santo Tomas (7-6) also eliminated Ateneo (5-8), 89-84, to make it three-way race with La Salle and FEU for the final two semis seats.