The final game day of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball elimination round is set to play out at the Araneta Coliseum one month after Severe Tropical Storm Paeng (Nalgae) cancelled what was supposed to be the first double-header of the second round.
Despite being a makeup game day, the elimination round’s last two games still carry a lot of weight in shaping the Final Four picture with a lot of possibilities still waiting in the wings for four of the five teams concerned.
La Salle (6-7) vs UST (1-12)
The La Salle Green Archers look to salvage their teetering Final Four campaign with a win over the hapless UST Growling Tigers at 2 pm.
Now that their playoff hopes are no longer in their hands after a stunning overtime loss to UE, the La Salle star core of Evan Nelle, Michael Phillips, and the recovering Schonny Winston can only focus on what they control, and end the elims with a momentum-boosting win.
Meanwhile, free-falling UST hopes to snap its sorry 12-game losing streak with one solid exit performance from star sophomore Nic Cabañero and other Tigers who would also want to step up.
Ateneo (10-3) vs Adamson (7-6)
The Ateneo Blue Eagles aim to secure the No. 1 spot with a win against the fourth seed-seeking Adamson Soaring Falcons at 4 pm.
With an improving bench crew of Chris Koon, Gab Gomez, Joshua Lazaro, and Geo Chiu, the streaking Blue Eagles look to steal the first seed away from defending champion UP off one last win to end with an 11-3 standings tie.
Meanwhile, Adamson vies to feed off the winning energy of its resurgent King Falcon Jerom Lastimosa, who led the team in their last two big wins against FEU and NU for a one-game lead over fifth-ranked La Salle.
Three Final Four seeds are still not set in stone with just two games left. How will the playoff picture turn out? Tune in to this page for key updates.
