IT’S the survival of the fittest in this jungle and both hunters, the Soaring Falcons of Adamson University and the University of the East Red Warriors, are smelling blood.
Which team will remain will be known when the clash tonight for the last Final Four slot in the 87th UAAP basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The game is set at 6:30 p.m., with the survivor advancing to the Last Four opposite defending champion and No. 1 seed La Salle.
Second-ranked University of the Philippines will take on No. 3 University of Santo Tomas in the other semis showdown.
The Green Archers and Fighting Maroons have twice-to-beat incentives in the Last Four set to start on Saturday, Nov. 30, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Falcons coach Nash Racela said his wards are bracing for a dogfight.
“When you get into the playoffs, you get into a knockout game, iyong mga nangyari before wala iyon. Ang lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila expect na hindi mangyayari iyong mga nangyari dati,” Racela said. “It will be a totally different ball game, so you don’t really know what to expect.
“So, it will be different, but we will do our part in preparing the players,” he added.
With a 3-7 record and reeling from a five-game losing streak, Adamson was one-and-a-games behind then the No. 4 Growling Tigers last Oct. 27 but it won three of its last four tiffs in the eliminations to finish with a 6-8 record.
During the same stretch, the Warriors were sitting comfortably in third spot with a 6-3 slate and were three-and-a-half games ahead of the Falcons when the Recto-based squad dropped its last five matches and are now on the brink of missing out on the semis.
UE last reached the Final Four in 2009 where it went all the way to the Finals. The Warriors last played in a playoff in 2014, narrowly losing to eventual champion National University 49-51 when Bong Galanza missed a potential game-winning three-point shot in the waning seconds.
“Actually, medyo mahirap because mentally, medyo down iyong mga players or even iyong coaches, but we just need to compete,” UE tactician Jack Santiago said. “We had a talk with the players and sabi ko nga, nag-reset kami, 0-0.
“Hopefully, maglaro kami ng maayos. It’s a do-or-die, no turning back, there’s no tomorrow.”