Falcons eye automatic Final 4 entry

MANILA, Philippines — Adamson shoots for an outright ticket to the Final Four when it faces Ateneo at the close of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament elims at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.

Clinging to solo fourth with a 7-6 card and a full game ahead of No. 5 La Salle (6-7), the Falcons will try to head straight to the semis without any detour or layover with a victory over the Blue Eagles at 4 p.m.

An Adamson loss and a La Salle victory against cellar dweller Santo Tomas (1-12) in the 2 p.m. match will create a two-way tie for No. 4 between Adamson and La Salle at 7-7. In such a case, they will figure in a KO game.

Reigning champion University of the Philippines (11-3), Ateneo (10-3) and National U (9-5) have booked their seats in the semis with the Maroons and the Eagles clinching twice-to-beat advantages as sure top two finishers.

Ateneo actually sports a chance to finish at No. 1 over rival UP for strategic playoff positioning with a win against Adamson.

A victory by the Eagles would also keep a small window of opportunity for the other squads and turn the last playdate into a crucial one with huge implications for all concerned squads.

That possibility, however, only makes the Falcons extra motivated to crash the party and spoil a highly-anticipated Ateneo-La Salle collision in the Final Four.

“Well actually, a lot of people are counting us out already, because they want La Salle to make it to the Final 4. I don’t know, maybe they’re anticipating Ateneo No. 1 and La Salle No. 4 for the semis,” said Adamson mentor Nash Racela.

“I know how people think. We want to counter that. That’s actually our goal. Expectations and reality are always different so we’ll try our best. We’ll try our absolute best,” he added.

Ateneo, for its part, will march into battle with only one goal regardless of an array of fates at stake in their hands.

“Playing Adamson today is a huge affair. It allows us to finish top of the table, and I don’t think many people would have expected that at the beginning or in the middle of the season. We will play to win. There’s only one way to play the game of basketball – play to win,” said Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin.

Meanwhile in women’s Final Four action, six-time champion and No. 1 National U battles Ateneo at 9 a.m. while second-seeded La Salle takes on Santo Tomas at 11 a.m. with hopes of maximizing their twice-to-beat bonus to arrange a quick finals date.