Games today (The Arena)
2 p.m. – SWU vs. FEU
4 p.m. – San Beda vs. La Salle
SOUTHWESTERN University head coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba has one simple message for his players which he hopes will sink in on the eve of arguably, their most important game this year.
“Win or go home.”
These are the bare odds that the Cobras find themselves ranged against when they take the floor against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the final day of the semifinal round of the 2013 National Collegiate Championship today at the Arena in San Juan City.
The Cobras had a shot at securing a place in the finals series but bungled it with a listless performance that saw them get plastered by the reigning NCAA rulers, the San Beda Red Lions, 49-77 last Tuesday.
Nigerian import Ola Adeogun was the chief catalyst in bringing the Cobras back down to earth as he tallied 22 points and 11 rebounds in a dominant show of force inside the shaded lane.
After stealing the show with impressive performances in their opening game stunner against La Salle, Mark Jayven Tallo, Monbert Arong and Melvin Holper played like mere mortals once again, scoring just two points each after combining for 39 against the Archers.
SWU hopes to regain their winning form today and make it back to the finals for the first time since the University of the Visayas did it back in 2007 when the Lancers lost to Ateneo in the championship game.
Standing opposite them will be an undermanned FEU team that not only lost their vaunted backcourt of UAAP MVP Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia to the pro ranks but will also be missing their star forward, Mark Belo and head coach Nash Racela who are both with the Sinag Pilipinas team that is currently playing in the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar.
Battling for the other championship slot are San Beda and UAAP champions, La Salle, with that game set for 4 p.m. The Archers bounced back from their 58-68 loss to SWU with an 80-60 rout of FEU the other day.