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| c/o Tiebreaker Times |
UAAP Season 86 Standings
Baseball
x-DLSU 7-3
x-NU 7-3
x-Ateneo 5-5
y-UP 4-6
y-UST 4-6
AdU 3-7
(x - Final Four, y- Playoff)
Softball
z-AdU 8-0
y-UP 5-3
y-UST 5-3
DLSU 1-7
Ateneo 1-7
(z - Finals, y - Playoff)
Games Saturday at the UP Diliman Baseball Field
8 a.m. - UP vs UST (Baseball Playoff for #4)
4 p.m. - UP vs UST (Softball Playoff for Finals Berth)
A unique doubleheader is scheduled on Saturday at the UP Baseball Field inside the Diliman campus, as sub-hosts the University of the Philippines tangle with the University of Santo Tomas for the right to enter the postseason.
Kicking things off in the morning is the baseball playoff at 8am, with the winner designated to be the fourth seed in the Final Four and gets to face La Salle next week.
The defending champions helped set the table with a dramatic walk-off triumph on Thursday afternoon over the Golden Sox, 10-9, a matchup that needed an additional inning to finish.
That was then followed by a dramatic 15-12 come-from-behind outcome by the Fighting Maroons against Ateneo to force a playoff.
Kobe Torres shut the door on the Blue Eagles that evening, closing things out after his teammates scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
UP head coach Anthony Dizer says about this matchup, "If you want to win this game, you have to earn it. Hindi ibibigay sa atin 'to."
The Golden Sox cooled off after winning three of their first four matches, losing four straight and five of the last six.
Head coach Jeffrey Santiago still believes in his wards in spite of their struggles, as they try to secure their first postseason berth since UAAP Season 79.
"Mental toughness ang kailangan ng mga bata. Kalimutan na nila yung mga talo namin. Maayos na mindset at matulog ng maaga ang kailangan namin," he says.
To end this slide, reigning MVP Justine Rosales needs to lead the way for the Espana-based batters.
In the afternoon, a stake in the softball finals beckons between these schools at 4pm, hoping to be the foil to Adamson's quest for an eleventh straight title.
The Fighting Maroons did their part with a 15-0 shellacking of Ateneo on Wednesday, while UST was forced into this situation after bowing to the Lady Falcons to close out the elimination round, 4-1.
That scoreline also happened to be the result of the second round meeting between the two teams, allowing UP to have a flicker of hope for a return trip to the finals.
Fresh from a mercy rule-invoked victory, UP head coach Ron Pagkaliwagan hopes that this can translate into the playoff.
He says, "Yun lang naman 'yung hihintay ko na lumabas 'yung totoong laro ng UP talaga. Kanina nakita ko yung totoong laro nila na maayos ang defense, maganda ang palo, at ang pitching. Sana magtuluy-tuloy hanggang championship."
UP is expected to field KC Valino on the mound. The sophomore hopes to get adequate run support from a unit that is led by last season's MVP Nickole dela Cruz, Martine Francisco, and Danica Aquino.
Even with the defeat, UST head coach Sandy Barredo remains unfazed, as the Tiger Softbelles seek their first finals appearance post-pandemic.
He notes, "Dadalawa lang naman ‘to e, kung makaka-hit kami, mananalo kami. Kung hindi, dadaanin namin sa depensa. Basta kami, maglalaro kami bukas."
Although both teams split their head-to-head appearances in the eliminations, both UP teams will be designated as home teams due to a better tiebreaker.
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