MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas (UST) and Adamson University gun for a share of second place when they collide in the main game of today’s 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the PhilSports Arena.

Currently locked at joint third with identical 2-1 slates, the Tigers and the Falcons meet in the 4 p.m. nightcap after front-running Far Eastern University (FEU) and the still-winless University of the Philippines (UP) open hostilities at 2 p.m.

De La Salle University, which tripped archrival Ateneo de Manila University, 66-63, on Saturday, sits at solo second with a 3-1 card.

The Tigers are coming off a heart-stopping 87-81 overtime victory over a visibly distracted UP on Thursday behind the 29-point outburst of veteran playmaker Jeric Fortuna who shot an impressive 8-of-10 from three-point country.

Adamson, meanwhile, notched its second win after trouncing UP, 66-59 last July 17.

“Ito ang team na kahit tagilid na lumalaban pa rin. Palaban ang team na ito. May pride at puso sa laro kahit malakas pa ang kalaban,” UST coach Pido Jarencio after the Tigers escaped the Maroons, who sorely missed head coach Aboy Castro in the game.

Castro, who went on an indefinite leave before the UST-UP match, was reportedly on his way out as coach of State U after failing to give the Maroons a decent start this season.

But against the taller and more experienced Adamson unit, the rookie-laden Tigers will have a difficult time cracking the match ups on both ends.

For one, Fortuna and Clark Bautista will have a tougher assignment against the quicker and more physical Adamson court generals in Lester Alvarez and Jeric Cañada, unarguably the league’s most experienced backcourt today.

Upfront, Chris Camus, Carmelo Afuang and rookies Paulo Pe and Vince Tinte are in for a muscle-wrenching challenge against Adamson’s bevy of experienced insider operators composed of the vastly improved Alex Nuyles, Jan Colina, Eric Camson, Mike Galinato and Roider Cabrera. Add to that rookies William Stinnett and Lionel Manraya, who are slowly picking up their strides halfway into the season.

Outside shooting and consistent perimeter ball movement might spell the difference for the relatively undersized and inexperienced UST. But that will depend on the offensive mood of sophomores Jeric Teng and Aljon Mariano, whom Jarencio expects to provide the outside-inside attack for the Tigers.

Mariano, a current RP Youth Team standout, went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc against UP en route to a career-high 18 points, while Teng, despite not tallying his usual numbers lately, remains an offensive threat in Jarencio’s short rotation.

The key for the Falcons is to control the boards and drag UST’s porous zone defense in a web of half court sets coupled with occasional transition plays. Yet all that will rely on which team dictates the tempo and sustains its composure to the finish.

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