Juniors, women’s semis on today

By Jonas Terrado - Manila Bulletin - September 13, 2008

Defending champion De La Salle-Zobel and Ateneo try to forge a remake of last year’s finals showdown in the UAAP basketball tournament juniors division today when they face separate rivals at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Bengals tangle with FEU-Nicanor Reyes Education Foundation (FEU-FERN) dribblers at 1 p.m. while the Eaglets meet the Adamson junior Falcons at 3 o’clock with both teams bidding to finish the Final 4 early.

The Eaglets, swept La Salle in last year’s finale, and the Bengals finished the double-round eliminations tied for first with identical 12-2 records for the two twice-to-beat incentives.

The Eaglets, however, nailed the top spot due to a superior quotient following a 69-64 win over DLSZ last Saturday at the Blue Eagle gym.

Expected to lead the Eaglets are guards Juami Tiongson, who finished with a 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.1 steals a contest, and Kiefer Ravena, son of former PBA cager Bong Ravena, who tallied 12.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his second-year with the team.

The Junior Falcons, on the other hand, will be bannered by top MVP candidate Mark Juruena, who is leading the statistical points race with 87.1429 after posting 20.3 points and 13.6 rebounds per game as he led the team to a 9-5 record.

Despite being relegated to second after holding the lead for most of the tournament, the Bengals still loom as the heavy favorites against the Baby Tamaraws.

Meanwhile, the Final Four in the women’s division starts at 9 a.m. when University of Santo Tomas meets third seed University of the Philippines while top-seed Far Eastern University meets number four Adamson.

The Lady Tamaraws dominated the double-round elims with a near-perfect 13-1 record with a deep lineup composed of Chovi Borja, who led the team at 10.9 points, Lynne Reyes, who made 11.1 boards a game, Raiza Palmera, Mary Ann Biag-Ao and Bernadette Mercado.