UAAP 81 coaches give their Final Four picks

With the opening of the 81st season of the UAAP happening this Saturday, the men's basketball coaches gave their take on who among the teams have the most chances of being included in the Final Four.

FEU Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela said that while everyone has a fair chance in making it to the Final Four, defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles is already a shoo-in. He even expects the Katipunan-based squad to sweep the elimination games.

"I think everyone has a fair chance, but the best chance is syempre, Ateneo. With the way they played in the pre-season, I think I'll be surprised if they lose a game in the eliminations. After Ateneo, I think it is a fair fight between all these teams making it to the Final Four. It's gonna be tough," Racela said.

However, Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin downplayed the forecast. In an interview with GMA News, Baldwin said that as coach, he needs to focus first on the task on hand, and they are not talking about the end of the season yet.

He added, "I think a lot of that talk about people projecting us to be a successful team does not help us. We choose not to talk about it. We will work for it and we will do everything we can to be the best team. That's why we play the season for"

Just like Coach Tab Baldwin, AdU Soaring Falcon's assistant coach Don Allado does not think that far ahead and believes all teams this year are competitive.

"As far as thinking who will be thinking in the Final Four. We haven't really thought about it. There's so many things happening in the first round, teams are gonna start to peak. The teams this year are all very competitive. They've improved a lot. As for now, what I can just tell you is we're not thinking about the Final Four," the former DLSU player said.

For NU Bulldogs Coach Jamike Jarin, he cited their seating position during the press conference, drawing laughter from the audience. "On my left (AdU, ADMU, DLSU, FEU), they are contenders. On my right, myself included, we're trying to get there."

He was referring to Adamson Univerity (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU).

NU Coach Jamike Jarin on who he thinks will make it to the Final Four: On my left (AdU, ADMU, DLSU, FEU), they are contenders. On my right, myself included, we're trying to get there. @gmanews pic.twitter.com/28qyheokT3

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) September 3, 2018

DLSU head coach Louie Gonzales also believes that all the teams this year have a chance of making it to the Final Four, while UE head coach Joe Silva also thinks Ateneo is already a given.

UST Growling Tigers assistant coach Nap Gutierrez, however, did not give his predictions.

Last season, DLSU, Adamson, and FEU made it to the Final Four while Ateneo eventually emerged as kings of UAAP basketball.