Ateneo tries to lock in second seed against Adamson

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By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Ateneo looks to secure the other twice-to-beat advantage in the UAAP men's basketball semifinals as it clashes with Adamson in the final game of the elimination round on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Blue Eagles (9-4) only need to beat the Soaring Falcons (8-5) in the tail end of the doubleheader initially scheduled on Oct. 16 but was postponed twice at 4 p.m. to lock in the second seed, which comes along with the semifinal bonus.

The front end of the twinbill is also an interesting match as FEU, also at 8-5, tries to avoid falling to the fourth seed against UE.

A surprise turn of events late in the regular season saw the Eagles soaring to possibly the second seed and the Tamaraws possibly slipping to fourth.

FEU's only chance to evade a collision course with top-seeded La Salle in the Final Four is for the team to beat UE in the 2 p.m. game and hope that Adamson falls to Ateneo in the 4 p.m. tip-off.

If the Tams fall to the Red Warriors or if the Falcons beat the Eagles by at most 30 points assuming the Tams win, the Tams will go down to fourth place and will surely face the Green Archers, armed with a twice-to-beat edge, in the semis, while the Falcons and the Eagles will entangle in a playoff for second, which will serve as Game 1 of a virtual best-of-three semifinal affair.

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