Posted by Tony L Atayde at inboundpass.com
In sports competitions, medals are awarded to the top 3 finishers. Gold, silver and bronze medals have been the standard rewards for a job well done.
As usual, the UAAP is a different situation. Being No. 4 is something that is being aspired for by 5 teams and if you look closely, there is a strong possibility that 4 out of the 5 teams have a chance to get it.
Ateneo, FEU and UE seem to have clinched the top 3 spots. By all indications, Ateneo and FEU will end up with the twice to beat advantage. UE is playing good enough and its record seems to be good enough to assure them of 3rd place.
It’s the battle for that 4th spot that is interesting. I cannot recall the last time that the teams yhat have a chance to make that last spot in the Final Four has been this close.
UP and Adamson have the hardest road ahead. The Falcons have to face FEU, Ateneo, UST and UP. With their 3-7 record, they have to win all their games to at least have a chance at a tie for that 4th spot. Adamson will have their work cut out for them. One loss and their chances are all but gone.
UP also has a tough series of games. With a 3- 7 record, they have to face FEU, UE, Ateneo and Adamson. It is actually that Adamson game that will be critical for both AdU and UP. One of them has to lose and that may just mean the end of the losing team’s Final Four hopes.
Though UP beat Ateneo in the first round, I don’t see it happening again in the 2nd round. FEU and UE will also definitely make their final push for the Final Four and UP is a team that they can both beat.
UST carries a 5 – 5 record and are in the best position to grab the last spot. They have the easiest schedule, having to play NU, Adamson, UE and La Salle. If they win at least 2 games, then their entry into the Final Four will be much stronger. However, it seems that only NU is a game that UST has almost a sure chance of winning. However, the Bulldogs have proven time and again to be the spoilers of the league. Adamson and UE will not be pushovers either.
La Salle who has a 4 – 6 record, still has a chance at the Final Four. Slim as it may be, they can still clinch a spot if they get their act together and play the kind of basketball that the Green Archers are known for. They have to play UE, FEU, NU and UST. They have to win at least 2 games to even have a remote chance of getting to the Final Four.
The key game in all these scenarios will be the La Salle – UST game. It may just boil down to the winner of this game going to the Final Four. La Salle won their first match-up and will be hoping to duplicate this.
Any upsets would definitely mess things up, especially for UST and La Salle. If NU for example comes out as the team that throws a monkey wrench into the fray, then it will make the UAAP homestretch even more interesting.
If by chance UST or La Salle get the number 4 spot, it will be interesting because that means they will be playing Ateneo. La Salle would definitely want to prove its detractors wrong while UST has shown that it can upset Ateneo as it did when they last won the championship.
It will be an exciting homestretch. Who will get that number 4 spot? Let’s sit back and enjoy it.
Very Opinionated. Very Green. Hate him. Love Him. It does not matter and he does not care. A Howard Stern in cyberspace. He bleeds Green, he is purely from La Salle, as a former writer and Assistant Vice President for Events of the DLSU Alumni Association. Played basketball and was on the track and field team for La Salle during the NCAA just don’t ask what year.