Two-time defending UAAP Men’s 3×3 Basketball champion De La Salle University kept its title-retention hopes alive after dispatching last season’s final opponent University of the East, 21–13, to clinch the last semifinal berth, Saturday at Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque.
The Green Archers, Red Warriors, and the Adamson Baby Falcons found themselves in a three-way tie for the final two spots in the semifinals of the tournament supported by Molten Philippines, all ending with identical 1–1 head-to-head records.
Adamson, which earlier defeated Far Eastern University, 22–19, secured the third seed after tallying 135 total points in the eliminations. La Salle edged UE for the fourth seed, 130–129.
Rookie Doy Dungo paced the Green Archers with 10 points, while EJ Abadam — the lone holdover from last season’s gold medal squad — added six points and seven rebounds.
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On Adamson’s end, Ray Allen Torres and Cedrick Manzano led the Soaring Falcons with 10 and nine points, respectively. Manzano also grabbed 11 boards to complete a strong all-around effort.
It was a painful déjà vu for Wello Lingolingo and the Red Warriors, who similarly missed out on the 5-on-5 Final Four due to a playoff loss.
This time, they fell just short again, needing only two more points to eliminate La Salle and book their own semifinal ticket.
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Meanwhile, National University was denied a sweep of the elimination round after bowing to fellow Final Four-bound squad University of Santo Tomas, 19–16.
Rookie Amiel Acido led UST with nine points, while Gelo Crisostomo tallied five points and 10 rebounds, and Ice Danting chipped in four points to complete the upset.
In the semifinals on Sunday, NU will face La Salle at 12 p.m., followed by UST taking on Adamson.
The battle for the last two semifinal spots in the women’s division also came down to the wire.
Heading into the final day, the NU Lady Bulldogs, Ateneo Blue Eagles, FEU Lady Tamaraws, and Adamson Lady Falcons were all still in contention to join the UST Growling Tigresses and UP Fighting Maroons in the Final Four.
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Defending champions UST eliminated NU with a 21–16 victory, powered by CJ Maglupay’s impressive outing of nine points on 8-of-11 shooting, along with six rebounds.
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FEU, on the other hand, narrowly escaped Adamson, 16–14, behind Yvette Villanueva’s eight points and seven rebounds.
To close out the round, the Ateneo Blue Eagles stunned the Fighting Maroons, 21–16.
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Two-time UAAP 5-on-5 MVP Kacey dela Rosa exploded for 11 points on 10-of-12 shooting and hauled down 11 rebounds to lead the charge.
FEU claimed the third seed by virtue of its earlier 21–9 win over Ateneo in the elimination round.
FEU will face UP at 11:40 a.m., while UST and Ateneo clash in the earlier semifinal at 11:20 a.m.
In non-bearing games, Sean Alter and the Fighting Maroons eked out a 17-15 win over last place Blue Eagles to finish the tournament with two wins while Tricia Mendoza and Kyle Sunga led the Lady Archers to a 13-8 win over the listless Lady Warriors to end up with three wins.
