Eaglets complete elims sweep, gain finals seat

Defending champion Ateneo earned an outright finals seat by sweeping the elimination round of the 73rd UAAP 73 juniors’ basketball tournament.

The Blue Eaglets, who like their seniors squad are also seeking their third straight crown, cruised to an 87-61 triumph over the National University Bullpups on Tuesday at The Arena in San Juan City. Kiefer Ravena tallied 24 points and eight assists while Paolo Romero scored 14 and grabbed 15 rebounds to help Ateneo complete a 14-game sweep of the elimination round. The Jamike Jarin-coached Blue Eaglets also gained a thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals, an added incentive for sweeping the elimination round as the next three teams ahead of them will vie for the second finals berth via the step-ladder format. In the step-ladder format, the second-ranked team will have a bye and will await the winner of the match between the teams seeded third and fourth. The surviving team after two knockout games will earn the right of facing Ateneo in the finals. Ravena had 13 points in the first quarter, one point better than the Bullpups’ combined output after 10 minutes of play, as the Blue Eaglets posted a 23-12 spread entering the second period and never looked back. Ralph Tansingco had 14 points while Raphael Atangan added 12 for NU, which finished the elimination round with a 10-4 card, a major improvement from their dismal 2-12 record last season. The Bullpups finished second in the standings. In the first game, Far Eastern University-Nicanor Reyes Educational Foundation thwarted an automatic step-ladder phase berth for De La Salle-Zobel after the Baby Tamaraws scored a 69-51 win against the Junior Archers. Mark Gelig finished with 20 points while Immanuel Custodio and Mark Tanoy added 15 and 14 each for the Baby Tams, who improved to 7-7 and tie their victims from fourth to fifth spots. The Junior Archers missed an outright chance of earning a slot in the step-ladder phase with the loss. Joseph Tempongko, Nico Torres and Jonathan Calugcug led the Junior Archers with nine points apiece. Adamson could join the Baby Tams and the Junior Archers in the race for the final berth in the step-ladder phase if the Baby Falcons defeat the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs in their 10:45 a.m. match on Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum. Cellar dwellers University of the East (1-12) and University of the Philippines-Integrated School (0-13) look to finish their season on a winning note when they clash in Thursday’s 9 a.m. opener. – JVP, GMANews.TV