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UAAP: Tamaraws and Green Archers figure in KO game for the last Final Four spot
The elimination round may be over, but the Final Four cast has yet to be determined. The De La Salle University Green Archers and the Far Eastern University Tamaraws figure into a loser-goes-home encounter for the right to face the number one seed Ateneo Blue Eagles, Wednesday at the SM MOA Arena, as the 75th UAAP men's seniors division basketball tournament draws to a close. The bout is expected to be a tightly contested one, after the two squads split their regular season meetings. FEU escaped with a 48-46 win in the first round, but DLSU got a measure of revenge in round two with a 63-56 victory. There's also a sense of history involved in this match-up. Back in Season 73, these two met with a top-seeded FEU squad taking on a fourth-ranked DLSU team, with the former winning 69-59 in overtime. No doubt, the Archers would love to mark their return to prominence with a win over the Tams, while on the flip side, FEU would want to challenge Ateneo one more time, after losing to them in the past two Finals series. 
This is a game La Salle will try to win via defense. The Archers allow the fewest points per game thanks to their ability to hold teams to 34.2 percent shooting from the field and they also dominate the boards, corralling 48.2 rebounds in each outing. For FEU, it will be all about their shooting. They're norming a 41.5 percent clip from the field, second-best in the UAAP, and they manage to do that all while turning the ball over just 14 times a game. That means more possessions, which means more shots, and at a high conversion rate. Of late though, Far Eastern's shooting has gone into the toilet. In their last two games, both losses, against DLSU and NU, they've shot just 34.53 percent from the field and a worrying 25.92 percent from downtown, even as their number of three-pointers attempted jumped up from 18.58 to 27 a game. That inability to hit the long-range shot might be something La Salle will test with a zone early. The Archers meanwhile, will have to stay aggressive by getting to the line. True, they've been wildly inconsistent shooting free throws this season, hitting 61 percent overall, but that's actually a better stat than FEU's 60.1 percent. The numbers even back it up: they get four more charities in wins than in losses. With their foes likely to be content bombing away, getting into the paint will definitely benefit the Taft-side. 
All season long, Terrence Romeo has been shouldering the load on offense for the Tamaraws. It's worked out well against less-heralded teams, but facing a defense like La Salle's will mean getting clean looks will be rare, so he'll need to drop the one-man act. Former MVP RR Garcia has been struggling all season, but his ability to post up guards might come in handy, especially against the likes of Thomas Torres, Almond Vosotros, and Mac Tallo. The guy that needs to snap out of a funk however, if FEU is to survive, is definitely Anthony Hargrove. The main post player on the Morayta squad has shot 50 percent for the season, but the last time he scored in double figures was the second round match against NU that had to be replayed. He had 13 points on seven field goal attempts in that game, but since then, has averaged a mere 3.5 points on 3.5 shots. 
In their past five games, it's been all about the Jeron Teng and Almond Vosotros combo. The duo has combined to norm 34.6 points in that span, slightly more than half of their team's 68 point average. While the younger Teng brother has emerged as his squad's go-to guy, Vostoros might see his playing time cut back with LA Revilla making his return back into the rotation following an injury. Just like FEU though, La Salle's x-factor might be their man in the center, one Norbert Torres. Versus the teams out of Final Four contention, the Fil-Canadian has tallied four double-double outings, with an average of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Against the other three squads however, he hasn't had a single double-double, while his numbers dip to seven points and eight boards. With Hargrove in a similar funk, Torres could take advantage of the match-up and exert himself down low, giving FEU another headache to worry about. - CLP, GMA News Season 75 recap:
