ATENEO locked up the top seed in the UAAP Season 85 men's basketball Final Four and denied Adamson an outright spot after a hard-earned 66-61 victory on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, the Blue Eagles will once again finish at the top of the standings at 11-3, their fifth consecutive season in that position. They will own a twice-to-beat advantage anew in the semifinals starting on Sunday.
[READ: La Salle saves season with brave comeback over UST]
The Katipunan side now sits idle while waiting for the winner of the fourth place-playoff between Adamson and La Salle, which both ended up with identical 7-7 cards.
University of the Philippines, which finished at No. 2, will also have the twice-to-beat edge against No. 3 National University in the other semifinal pairing.
The Blue Eagles saw a 10-point lead, 60-50, in the final 4:45 trimmed to one, 62-61, after a Cedrick Manzano layup in the last 1:42 but held on to secure the No. 1 seed in the Final Four over defending champions UP Maroons.
Ange Kouame gave Ateneo a bit of a breathing room with a putback with 35.3 seconds left, but Ateneo still had to dodge two treys from Joaquin Jaymalin and Joem Sabandal before BJ Andrade iced the game at the free throw line.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph