UAAP cage wars down to battle for seeding between Ateneo, FEU

With the Final Four cast completed following Thursday’s results, the UAAP Season 72 seniors basketball tournament is now down to a battle for seeding between pacesetting Ateneo and second-running Far Eastern U. The defending champions Blue Eagles carry a league-leading 12-1 card and the Tamaraws tote 11-2 and the two will dispute the No. 1 seeding when they end their eliminations campaign on Saturday. The Tamaraws need to beat Ateneo by five points to dislodge the Katipunan-based cagers from the top seeding and get the easier task of facing the fourth-ranked team, University of Santo Tomas, in the semis. But regardless of which team between Ateneo and FEU emerges No. 1, the two squads are already assured of the twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four. The semis cast was only completed Thursday in the penultimate day of eliminations, when UST got a free ride to the fourth and last seat, courtesy of National U. The Bulldogs beat La Salle, 63-61, shutting the door on the Green Archers who were seeking to catch the Final Four bus via the backdoor. La Salle ended with a 5-9 card, one win short of UST’s six, and fifth overall. NU’s win over La Salle relegated the UST-UE tussle into a no-bearing match. Nonetheless, the Red Warriors were all business in drubbing the Tigers, 77-67, to cap their elimination campaign with six straight wins. The Recto-based dribblers finished with 10-4 for the No. 3 slot in the semis while the cagers from España Blvd. absorbed their third straight loss for a 6-8 slate and the No. 4 spot. The two teams have to beat Ateneo and FEU twice in order to the advance to the best-of-three finals. - GMANews.TV