Standings       W    L    PCT.
Ateneo            3       0    1.00
UST                 2       1    .667
UE                   2       1    .667
FEU                 1       1    .500
Adamson       1       1    .500
NU                   1       2    .333
UP                   0       2     .000
La Salle          0       2     .000

Games Thursday
(Philsports Arena)
2 p.m. – La Salle vs UP
4 p.m. – FEU vs Adamson

Host Far Eastern University guns for a share of the second spot while La Salle tries to rebound from two consecutive humbling defeats when both squads face separate rivals on Thursday in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament at the Philsports Arena.

The title-favorite Tamaraws meet Adamson University at 4 p.m. with the hope of joining University of Santo Tomas and University of the East in a three-way tie for second at 2-1.

The Green Archers, on the other hand, tangle with University of the Philippines at 2 p.m. in a battle of two winless squads.

After absorbing a 63-59 setback to defending champion Ateneo last July 12, FEU bounced back with a masterful 65-51 win of La Salle last Saturday as RP team member Mark Barroca fired 15 points even as fellow national mainstay JR Cawaling showed up with 10 points in the rout.

Despite the win, Tamaraws coach Glenn Capacio is keeping a guarded optimism on his squad that is tipped by many figure in the UAAP finals.

“Sa tingin ko nandun na ang mental attitude namin unlike nung first game. Sana tuloy tuloy na ito at hindi magbago,” said Capacio, who will also rely on the strength of RP team big man Aldrech Ramos, Reil Cervantes and rookies Ryan Roose Garcia and Pipo Noundou.

The Tamaraws, however, should not take the Falcons lightly especially that they are coming off an impressive 72-68 win over the Maroons last Saturday.

Adamson, though, will need big games from veteran big man Jan Colina, point guard Jerick Canada, Leo Canuday, and rookie Roider Cabrera to fill in the void left by the injured Alex Nuyles.

Nuyles is out for the rest of the first round after dislocating his right shoulder during Saturday’s team outing.

Meanwhile, the rookie-laden La Salle tries to find antidote to its offensive slump after shooting just 24 percent from the field in the first two games. So mediocre was the Archers’ offensive in those games that no player scored in double figures.

“Defensively we’re doing well but we have execute better. We’re trying to play as a team but sometimes we tend to run away from the system, at times, they wanted to be like a JV Casio, a Joseph Yeo, or a Mark Cardona," said DLSU coach Franz Pumaren.

In the absence of former stars JV Casio and Rico Maierhofer, who already finished their playing years in the league, veterans James Mangahas, Peejay Barua, Simon Atkins and Bader Malabes along with promising rookies Samuel Marata and Arvie Bringas are expected to carry the scoring load for the Archers.