MANILA, Philippines — Rampaging Far Eastern U shored up its Final Four drive while unbeaten Ateneo soared closer to an automatic finals seat yesterday as the mad race to the playoffs continued in the UAAP Season 84 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Tamaraws charged their way to a huge 67-62 win over skidding La Salle then got a lift from playoff-bound Blue Eagles, who clipped Final Four hopeful Adamson with a lopsided 91-57 victory entering the homestretch of the elims.
FEU notched its third straight win to climb to No. 4 with a 6-6 card ahead of the previously red-hot Soaring Falcons (5-7). The three-time reigning champion Blue Eagles improved to 12-0, including 38 straight wins since 2018.
Ateneo clinched a Final Four ticket as early as last week but boosted its separate goal of advancing straight to the finals via a sweep like it achieved in 2019 pending its last two games against FEU and University of the Philippines.
Earlier, UP (10-2) officially secured the No. 2 seed and a twice-to-beat incentive with an 81-68 triumph over winless University of the East (0-12), leaving the remaining squads in a wild scramble for the last two seats.
Super rookie RJ Abarrientos assured the Tamaraws an inside track for one of those coveted slots.
La Salle fell short in clinching a Final Four seat anew with its second straight loss (7-5).