Three-way battle for last semis slot marks final UAAP elims playdate

From left: Ateneo’s Dom Escobar, La Salle’s Jacob Cortez and FEU’s Jorick Bautista

UAAP Media Bureau

Games Wednesday

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)

7:30 a.m. – Ateneo vs DLSZ (16U)

9:30 a.m. – UST va FEU-D (16U)

12 p.m. – UST vs FEU (women)

2 p.m. – UST vs FEU (men)

4:30 p.m. – Ateneo vs DLSU (men)

7 p.m. – Ateneo vs DLSU (women)

MANILA, Philippines — La Salle wants no complications for an outright seat, while Ateneo and Far Eastern University want exactly that scenario to stay alive as the final semifinal ticket in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball becomes a three-cornered rumble in the final playdate Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Action erupts at 2 p.m. starting with the Tamaraws figuring in a do-or-die battle against the semis-bound University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers, followed by a deciding clash as well between archrivals Green Archers and the Blue Eagles at 4:30 p.m.

The double-header is a rescheduled date from the postponement earlier this month due to super typhoon Uwan and has now become the all-important clincher for the three squads given an airtight race.

UST, thanks to a big win over No. 1 seed National University, clinched the third seed with an 8-5 slate — leaving La Salle (7-6), FEU (6-7) and Ateneo (6-7) regardless of the result of its final match.

The Growling Tigers are set for a rematch with reigning champions Fighting Maroons, who finished No. 2 with a 10-4 slate behind the Bulldogs (11-3) still awaiting an opponent. NU and UP hold twice-to-beat incentives.

And out of the three squads sporting a shot at them, it’s the Green Archers who hold their own fate by needing just a victory to complete the Final Four at 8-6, albeit will be without wingman EJ Gollena due to a one-game suspension after a disqualifying foul with a closed fist on UP’s Francis Nnoruka.

“Just like how we approached this game, we forgot what was at stake and we threw it all out the window and focused on every possession. For sure, there's going to be a lot of pressure but what's important for us is to prepare for the battle," said coach Topex Robinson after La Salle’s crucial 87-82 win over UP to stay in the hunt.

"What's good about this is kahit nasaang position ka, if it's gonna be Ateneo vs La Salle, it's always gonna be a grind out game. It's gonna be an exciting end of the elimination game for us against Ateneo, so it's gonna be fun.”

The bigger pressure and challenge are on the Blue Eagles and the Tamaraws, who have no options but to win to stay alive and kicking for two scenarios.

Ateneo holds the simpler one, needing to beat La Salle to force a knockout battle with the latter. FEU, for its part, needs a win against UST and an Ateneo victory to have a shot.

That scenario for a triple tie at 7-7 would pave the way for a two-knockout format with the sixth and fifth-ranked squad basing on quotient battling first to have a shot against the fourth-ranked squad for the last bus.

It will boil down to whoever wants it more, according to Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin whose wards led by as many as 33 points in the first round before fending off La Salle, 81-74.

“The results are what we have to live with. Now we go into this last game knowing that there's only one thing that matters and it is not the performance, it is the result," he said.

"But I think that we have confidence from the fact that we have played so many games that could have been wins. I think we are a team that has a real chance to move forward in this competition and into the playoffs."

The new chapter of the iconic Ateneo-La Salle rivalry, however, will be more than just basketball and a Final Four ticket as both schools in a joint statement by UAAP Board of Trustees members Fr. Roberto Yap, SJ of Ateneo, and Br. Bernard Oca, FSC of La Salle, called on their fans and communities to wear white as a peaceful show of unity against corruption.

“Lasallians and Ateneans are united in our unwavering commitment to truth, integrity, and service to the Filipino nation. We stand as one at the La Salle-Ateneo Men's Basketball Game, on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, which was originally scheduled on 9 November 2025. We encourage everyone attending the game to wear white as a peaceful expression of solidarity for transparency and accountability in public service,” the statement read.