MANILA, Philippines – It’s clearly a hot-versus-cold tussle between streaking Far Eastern and slumping Santo Tomas but Tams coach Nash Racela won’t have his wards get lulled into a sense of complacency.
“It’s really dangerous to play the teams in the bottom,” said Racela ahead of today’s UAAP LXXIX men’s basketball main game at the MOA Arena.
The second-running Tams (6-2) shoot for their sixth straight win in the 4 p.m. duel with the embattled Tigers (2-6), who are determined to crawl out of a deep hole.
“If you look at their lineup, they got veterans, long and athletic players and their record doesn’t necessarily say much about their team. And they’re even more dangerous now that they have (to bounce back from) four straight losses,” said Racela.
The Tigers are hard-pressed to revive their bid for a Final Four.
“We should bring back the pride and fighting heart UST is known for,” said Tigers mentor Boy Sablan.
UST was erratic in their 61-71 loss to University of the East last Saturday, turning the ball over 32 times while missing 16 freethrows.
“Our biggest enemy is ourselves,” said skipper Louie Vigil. “Technically we still have a chance to make the Final Four. But we have to gain confidence. Hopefully we can remedy it before it’s too late.”
In the 2 p.m. first game, Adamson (4-4) seeks to get back on track and take solo third versus a University of the Philippines side (2-6) that’s on a high from its 56-52 upset of Ateneo.
The Falcons gave unbeaten La Salle a big scare before surrendering a 79-86 loss Sunday,
“I think we did a decent job. We were down the whole time but we didn’t quit. We just hang around, hang around. Almost,” said AdU’s Franz Pumaren. “At least, it’s a game that we can use as a springboard to the next games.”
UP snapped a 14-match losing streak spanning nine years to Ateneo with a 56-52 upset.
“What we really need to work on is the feeling and belief that we can win, especially if we put our acts together,” said UP’s Bo Perasol.