THE defending champions Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and the Adamson Soaring Falcons will duke it out one more time for the right to advance to the Final Four of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The two squads ended the elimination round with identical 7-7 records and the winner of Wednesday’s 2 p.m. clash will move on to the next round to take on the top seeded University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
Though the Blue Eagles and the Soaring Falcons split their regular season series, it’s Nash Racela’s Falcons who have the momentum heading to the much-anticipated tilt.
Figuring in two do-or-die clashes, Adamson upset third-ranked National U, 68-62, last week, before scrapping past the University of the East, 63-61, last Sunday.
The Falcons are actually in the same position as they were last year when they toppled the La Salle Green Archers, 80-76, to barge into the semifinal round. Though the situation is the same, Adamson coach Nash Racela admits that the personnel he has this time around are different.
Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin, though, is bracing for a tough game to avoid being the first Blue Eagle team to miss the Final Four in 10 years.
“Adamson’s really tough, we all know that. They’re one of the tougher teams to contend with,” said Baldwin after their 69-72 loss to the Green Archers last Saturday.