Ateneo eyes 8th straight UAAP victory; Slaughter, Ravena lead MVP race

Games Saturday (Smart Araneta Coliseum), 1 p.m. – NU vs UE , 3 p.m. – Ateneo vs FEU

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo tries to remove one of the more serious roadblocks to its march towards a possible sweep of the eliminations as the Blue Eagles battle the Far Eastern University Tamaraws at the start of the second round of the UAAP basketball tournament at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Saturday.

The 3 p.m. game is a rematch of their collision last Sunday during which the Blue Eagles, seeking a rare fourth straight championship, turned what was expected to be a close fight into a lopsided 69-49 victory that gave them their seventh straight win and a sweep of the first round.

“We just fell short in the end last time, but we had a good start,” FEU coach Bert Flores said whose team lost its last two games.

Flores admitted that it will require a Herculean effort to topple the Eagles who are looking to extend their win streak to eight.

But the FEU mentor is not about to raise the white flag.

“Ok naman ang first half, lumaban kami kaso na-injure si JR Cawaling tapos di rin kami makashoot,” said Flores, who also blamed the officiating for their woes. He was assessed a technical for complaining over some calls in that game.

FEU board representative Anton Montinola, who earned a warning for arguing with commissioner Andy Jao, met with the latter on Thursday to discuss some aspects in that game’s officiating.

A victory by the Eagles would put aside a serious threat to their bid for a sweep as the Tams are currently in third at 4-3, behind second placer Adamson University at 5-2.

University of the East, meanwhile, seeks a repeat over the National University when they collide at 1 p.m.

The Red Warriors, behind Paul Zamar, Biboy Enguio, Roi Sumang and Allan Santos, prevented a winless first round when they hacked out a stunning 72-71 win over the Bulldogs a week ago.