A breakdown of UST's journey to the Final Four

A breakdown of UST's journey to the Final Four
Season 72
By Patrick Leonard Mayo

Truly a heartbreaking loss for the Tigers. A win yesterday could have settled their Final Four destiny and ended La Salle's season as well. There may have been a ton of questoinable calls from the refs but I'd still give credit to La Salle. Sabi nga ni UST Team Manager Clarence Aytona, the Archers played one hell of a game.

Now on to more complicated matters since yesterday's outcome really complicated things. Keep in mind the current standings of UST (6-6) and DLSU (5-7). Here are the possible scenarios that the Tigers might be facing in the coming days:

Scenario No. 1-If UST wins their last two games against AdU and UE, (they will end up with an 8-6 record) and the Archers sweep their last two games against FEU and NU (giving them a 7-7 record), then UST will advance to the FF. So in short, UST needs to sweep their last two games to secure the last FF slot regardless if La Salle sweeps or not.

Scenario No. 2- If UST wins one and drops one and DLSU sweeps their last two games, they will end up with identical 7-7 records which will result into a do-or-die knock out match for the last FF spot.

Scenario No. 3- If the Tigers drop their last two games and the Archers win one and drop one, they will be tied at 6-8, ergo, another knock out match between the two. We know that the Tigers would love to aviod scenario number 2 and 3 because we all know the pressure they'll be facing in a knock out match and it's not just against a regular opponent, It's La Salle. No matter how weak they seem to be this season, La Salle is still La Salle. Tried and tested na ang system nila and ANYTHING can happen in a knock out match.

Scenario No. 4 - The worst thing that could happen. UST fails to win another game and DLSU sweeps their last two. UST ends up at 6-8, DLSU at 7-7, Archers advance to the Final Four.

UST will be facing Adamson this coming Sunday and UE on Thursday. The Falcons may be struggling this season but we have to keep in mind that the losses of the Falcons were decided by 5 points or less and their first encounter with the Tigers was decided by a single point. One of the hardest teams to beat is a team who is playing with nothing to lose. Adamson will be playing the spoilers role and they should be taken very seriously.

UE on the other hand is peaking at the right time. In my personal power rankings, I would rank them second to the Ateneo Blue Eagles. They have showed poise in the end game and are slowly erasing their tag as the league's perennial chokers. They still have a legit shot at grabbing the second spot and we can expect them to come all out in their remaining games.The Tigers need our support so let's go to the venues and cheer our hearts out.

Go USTe!!!