University of the Philippines is out to keep its hold of the second spot and earn a playoff berth when it takes on the third-ranked De La Salle in the UAAP Season 84 men's basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City Saturday, April 23.
After absorbing a 66-58 loss and seeing their eight-game win streak snap against the Adamson Soaring Falcons last Thursday, the Fighting Maroons (8-2) hope to get back on track with four games left before the end of the elimination round.
Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m., with the Green Archers setting their own gameplan since a win will propel them to a share of the second seed with the Maroons.
For UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde, there is no time to sulk in defeat as the following matches will dictate the tempo of the Final Four picture.
"Siyempre we have to be ready for La Salle right now. Lalo na 'yong La Salle is parang their game is feeling ko going up," said Monteverde. "We'll be looking forward to prepare for La Salle. 'Yon naman ang importante."
The same goes for De La Salle mentor Derrick Pumaren, who shifted his focus to UP after surviving a gritty University of the East side for a nail-biting 85-82 overtime victory two days ago.
Pumaren hopes to gain a twice-to-beat advantage for his wards but that would be another hurdle to overcome since the reigning champion Ateneo, which remained unbeaten in 10 straight games, already secured the first playoff ticket.
Only the No. 1 and No. 2 seeded teams are eligible for the twice-to-beat advantage should there be no sweep coming from the Blue Eagles. Otherwise, it will yield another stepladder Final Four format.
"So it's gonna be a good game on Saturday," said Pumaren. "We just have to be ready for UP and we know that UP's gonna come out blazing 'cos they lost today (Thursday). So we just have to be able to counter and expect that when we play."
The games last April 21 had produced a major shakeup in the rankings as National University, Far Eastern University, and Adamson figured in a three-way tie at fourth place all holding a 4-3 record.
The Bulldogs have been on a skid heading into the second round while the Tamaraws and the Falcons have found ways to recover and bolster their bid in the Final Four.
In other games, streaking Adamson takes on the embattled University of Santo Tomas (3-7) in the 10 a.m. opener, Ateneo (10-0) clashes with NU in their 12:30 p.m. encounter, and the hapless UE (0-10) and FEU cap off the quadruple-header at 7 p.m.