Bulldogs, Tams fan bid for top semis posts

MANILA, Philippines - Final Four qualifiers National U and Far Eastern U seek to get the inside track in the three-way race for the Top Two and twice-to-beat advantage as they gun for their 10th victories against separate rivals today in the drama-filled UAAP Season 76 men’s basketball at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bulldogs (9-4), denied of a guaranteed semis incentive by La Salle in a 57-55 squeaker that forged a triple tie for the first spot last Sunday, try again at 4 p.m. against an Ateneo (7-5) team that’s currently fighting for a place in the Final Four and also embroiled in an off-court tussle. 

Like NU, the Tams aim to pull off the crucial win against winless University of the Philippines (0-12) at  2 p.m. 

NU, FEU and idle La Salle (9-4) are locked in a logjam for top spot and could also end in a triple tie at the end of the 14-game elims. Should this scenario happen, the team with the highest quotient – NU – would take the No.1 spot while the two others would dispute the No. 2 seeding and its corresponding win-once Final Four bonus.

The Bulldogs are gunning for their first-ever twice-to-beat advantage in the semis.

FEU ranks third in the current standoff and could greatly boost their bid at the Top Two with a victory today. A win over UP will put the Tams one game ahead of La Salle, which subsequently has to beat UST in its final assignment to force a rubber match for No. 2.

As heated as the jockeying for position was the boardroom jousting of Ateneo and University of the East. 

The Eagles defeated the Warriors last Sunday, 77-72, but the battle didn’t end on the court as they accused each other of “violating” the condition of the suspensions of two personalities, coach Bo Perasol of Ateneo and player Ralf Olivares of UE, which could lead to sanctions like forfeiture.

Yesterday, Ateneo representative to the board Ricky Palou filed a letter to the UAAP board seeking an investigation on the presence of Olivares in the seats just behind the UE bench. He said this is in violation of the UAAP 76 Rules and Regulations which prohibit a banned player “to sit in the bench and its immediate vicinity during the period of suspension.” 

He asked that the board “investigate the matter and that the appropriate sanctions be imposed in accordance with the UAAP 76 Rules and Regulations.”

Palou extended their request to include probe on other suspended players seen sitting “in the immediate vicinity of the bench” – FEU’s RR Garcia in their Aug. 25 game against UE, Warriors Charles Mammie and Casajeros in UE’s Aug. 31 game against NU, and DLSU’s Thomas Torres in the Archers’ Sept. 1 game against Ateneo, as well as cases in the juniors and women’s divisions.

This came a day after UE lodged a similar letter on the presence of Perasol, who was inside the dugout during his period of suspension. Palou claimed Ateneo had requested an official from the UAAP Commissioner’s Office beforehand for Perasol to stay in the dugout and was given the go-ahead.

Amid all these, Perasol tries to focus on the task at hand as he returns to the Ateneo bench.

“We have to look beyond all the distractions and focus on accomplishing what we want to achieve,” said Perasol, whose wards are engaged in a dispute for the fourth and last semis berth with the Tigers (7-5).

The UAAP board will tackle the raging controversies in its board meeting tomorrow, along with other issues.