UNBELIEVABLE as it sounds, no team has been eliminated just yet in the ongoing UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.
And with 10 games total remaining, the race for the last two Final Four spots is still wide open.
So far, only La Salle (11-1) and the University of the Philippines (9-2) are assured of semifinal tickets.
READ: UP joins La Salle in Final Four with hard-fought win vs Adamson
But did you know there’s still a remote chance that there will be a five-way tie for the fourth spot?
No eliminations at end of eliminations?
UAAP head statistician Pong Ducanes floated the idea which would trigger an unprecedented stepladder for the fourth seed in the event that teams wound up knotted at 5-9.
How can that happen?
First, University of the East (6-5) can avoid any complications for its own sake and lock up the No. 3 seed with a win against University of Santo Tomas this Saturday.
Adamson must also repeat over the Growling Tigers, while Far Eastern University must be able to score a monumental upset over the Fighting Maroons.
National University should then take care of business and redeem itself against the Soaring Falcons and if it does, it can afford to drop its final assignment against the Green Archers.
Ateneo, for its part, must take down FEU and Adamson even if it loses to the Red Warriors.
If that wild scenario happens, the order as dictated by tiebreaker rules will see the seedings be Ateneo, Adamson, NU, UST, and FEU, in that order.
And so, the Tamaraws and Growling Tigers play in the first rung of the ladder, with the winner facing off against the Bulldogs, with the victor there taking on the Soaring Falcons, before the last survivor braces for the Blue Eagles.
The last team standings reward? A Final Four berth, of course, alongside a match-up opposite the still-to-be-determined top seed armed with a twice-to-beat advantage.
Of course, it’s a wild proposition and things may fall differently in the last two weeks of eliminations.
All in all, the marching order for teams aspiring to make it to the postseason is plain and simple: take care of your own business.
Here are the remaining games of the six teams still vying for the last two playoff berths:
UE (6-5)
Nov. 9, vs. UST
Nov. 13, vs. Ateneo
TBD, vs. UP
UST (5-7)
Nov. 9, vs. UE
Nov. 16, vs. Adamson
Adamson (4-7)
Nov. 10, vs. NU
Nov. 16, vs. UST
TBD, vs. Ateneo
FEU (4-8)
Nov. 9, vs. Ateneo
Nov. 16, vs. UP
NU (4-8)
Nov. 10, vs. Adamson
Nov. 13, vs. La Salle
Ateneo (3-8)
Nov. 9, vs. FEU
Nov. 13, vs. UE
TBD, vs. Adamson
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