MANILA, Philippines – Consistency and redemption will be the order of battle for defending champion Ateneo de Manila University and serious contender Adamson on Thursday as they face separate opponents to stay in flight going into the play-off phase of the 73rd UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

With 3 games left in the eliminations, the three-peat seeking Eagles hope to clinch the 2nd semifinals berth when they battle the rejuvenated University of the East (UE) at 4 p.m. after the Falcons take on the hard-luck University of the Philippines (UP) in the 2 p.m. curtain-raiser.

The Eagles stretched their winning run to 5 after whipping archrival De La Salle University, 74-57, on Sunday with Kirk Long turning in his best offensive game so far, tallying a career-high 22 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the three-point range.

UE also grabbed a piece of the spotlight over the weekend with a 71-63 upset of the 3rd seeded Falcons on Saturday, sending caution feelers to their Season 72 Finals tormentors, who currently sit at solo second with an 8-2 mark

“They (UE) never give us easy games. We know them very well,” Ateneo coach Norman Black said of UE which kept its flickering Final Four hopes alive after climbing to 3-7 in a tie for 6th place with idle University of Santo Tomas.

Just like in their previous outing, the Warriors will again hit the court with a do-or-die mindset.

“Every game is do-or-die for us. Our backs are against the wall but we will keep fighting to make it back to the Final Four no matter how tall the odds are,” UE mentor Lawrence Chongson said.

True enough against the Falcons, the Warriors played like there was no tomorrow, drawing big games from James Martinez, Ken Acibar, and rookie Lord Casajeros in the process.

Martinez poured 9 of his game-high 16 points in the 4th quarter to fuel the Warriors’ decisive endgame breakaway while Acibar and Casajeros added 15 and 14 markers, respectively.

Earlier in the day, the Falcons will try to get back on the winning track when they meet the equally frustrated Maroons, who are still reeling from a controversial 59-61 setback against National University (NU) on Sunday.

UP put the game under protest after the referees failed to call a 5th lane violation on the Maroons who repeatedly crossed the shaded lane as NU forward Jewel Ponferrada deliberately missed his 6th substitute freethrow with 1.2 seconds left.

The no-call prevented the Maroons from suing time and gambling for a last shot after a supposed jump ball at mid-court. UP also questioned a goal-tending violation allegedly committed by NU center Emmanuel Mbe on a Mike Silungan three-point attempt which the referees let go, causing the Maroons a possible one-point lead despite muffing a pair of potential winning freethrows with 2.4 ticks remaining.

UAAP commissioner Ato Badolato junked the protest and suspended the referees who presided over the controversy-marred game. UP guard Alvin Padilla also incurred a one-game ban for exchanging barbs with the referees after the no-call.

UP is set to appeal the case before the league’s technical committee anytime this week.

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