By the Numbers Sept. 2-5

The past playing week was a productive one as the much-awaited Final Four cast was finally completed with Far Eastern University (FEU), Ateneo de Manila University, Adamson University, and De La Salle University all earning their precious tickets to the next round. The week, however, was not devoid of surprises as Adamson and La Salle suffered crucial defeats to the nothing-to-lose spoilers. If there’s anything that the UAAP has taught the players and fans over the past years, there’s no such thing as sure-win. So make sure to tune in for the upcoming games heading to the Final Four. In the meantime, here are some of the significant numbers that were churned out during the concluded week.



4

The number of points Ateneo needs to lead over FEU in their crucial match-up this Saturday to earn the top seed in the Final Four. With their 81-77 squeaker over University of Santo Tomas (UST) yesterday, the Blue Eagles improved their record to 10-3—just a game behind the league-leading Tamaraws. The quotient system is employed by the UAAP in case of ties in team standings and Ateneo has a minus three after losing to FEU, 72-69, in the first round. The two-time defending champions boast of a 12.4 average winning margin this year—the most by any team.



15

The number of Final Four appearances of La Salle—the most by any team in the history of the UAAP. With their 78-69 manhandling of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) last Thursday, the Green Archers clinched the last semifinals slot and ended UST’s and National University’s (NU) hopes in the process. Since the format was introduced in 1994, excluding the school’s one-year suspension in 2006, La Salle has only missed the train to the Final Four once. That lone time was last season, wherein the team surprisingly finished at sixth place with a 5-9 record.



48

The number of points the University of the Philippines (UP) scored in their loss to FEU yesterday—the lowest by any team this season. The hard-luck Fighting Maroons absorbed their 13th straight as they struggled to find their offense even in a non-bearing game. The team shot an atrocious 33.3% (20-of-60) from the field, including a ghastly 8.7% (2-of-23) from three-point area. Only five of the 12 fielded players scored for UP with the bench only contributing four points. The previous lowest output was the 49 of NU in their first round loss to Ateneo last August 19.



3-1

The win-loss record of the University of the East (UE) versus Final Four teams in the second round. The Red Warriors’ 80-74 upset of La Salle last Saturday gave them three wins against the semis-bound teams after previously beating Adamson, 71-63, and Ateneo, 62-60. Their only loss was versus FEU, 83-77 in overtime, in a game that could’ve also easily gone their way. It’s a case of too-late-the-hero though as they are already out of the Final Four. UE finished the first round with a lowly 1-6 record and it simply was a hole too deep to dig out of in the UAAP.



4

The number of players who put up career-highs in points during the past playing week. NU sophomore guard Joseph Terso scored 18 versus FEU, UST big man Carmelo Afuang had 19 against La Salle, UE spitfire playmaker Raffy Reyes recorded 17 versus La Salle, and Ateneo seldom-used forward Chris de Chavez made 12 versus UST. Of the four players, the second-year De Chavez made the most significant leap in his offensive production as he already surpassed in just one day his nine-point total from all of his nine games since entering the league last season.

Paolo Mariano, UAAP Sports