Games Today (men’s MOA Arena)
11 a.m. — UST vs DLSU
1 p.m. — NU vs UE
4 p.m. — ADMU vs FEU
6 p.m. — UP vs AdU

(women’s Smart-Araneta Coliseum)
9 a.m. — FEU vs UE
11 a.m. — AdU vs DLSU
1 p.m. — NU vs ADMU
3 p.m. — UP vs UST

OFF to different tracks, title contenders take on different counterparts to hold their positions or stabilize shaky spots as the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament enters the pivotal second round at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

University of the Philippines (UP) and National University (NU), ahead of the pack with similar 6-1 cards, want no let-up to maintain comfortable gaps from chasing rivals led by reigning champion Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU), both at 4-3, as other squads try to pump some life to their Final Four hopes after the first round.

The Figthing Maroons clash against the fifth-running Adamson University Soaring Falcons (3-4) in the main game at 6 p.m. after the duels between La Salle and University of Santo Tomas (1-6) at 11 a.m., NU and University of the East (2-5) at 1 p.m., and  Ateneo and Far Eastern University (2-5) at 4 p.m.

In a wild turnaround of events at the close of the first round courtesy of Ateneo’s victory over erstwhile unbeaten UP, no squad will take a perfect slate in the second round for a free-for-all race instead of a potential stepladder format.

The Fighting Maroons, after wiping out their first six opponents in what seemed a cruise control, hit a roadblock with a 99-89 overtime loss to their Katipunan rivals in Act I of their finals rematch.

That should serve as enough warning for the dribblers from Diliman, coach Goldwin Monteverde noted, after not learning their mistakes amidst a then unbeaten run so far.

“Our concern right now is how to play consistently. We just have to gather ourselves together and be ready for the games. We need to be consistent doing things,” said Mr. Monteverde.

For Ateneo, it’s about time to turn their jets on after a wobbly start that only gained traction with big win against UP.

“If we can’t do more of this, then this will just be a moment. We need to turn the corner. It will be great if we can but we’ll find out if we can step up and be a high-caliber team again,” said coach Tab Baldwin after losses to NU, FEU and Adamson though Ateneo scored big ones on UP and De La Salle.

Pace-setting UP (6-1), likewise, eyes to keep the lead in women’s play against Santo Tomas (5-2) at 3 p.m. after the matches of FEU (2-5) against UE (0-7) at 9 a.m., Adamson (2-5) versus De La Salle (2-5) at 11 a.m. and NU (6-1) opposite Ateneo (5-2) at 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, De La Salle’s Kevin Quiambao and Ateneo’s Kacey dela Rosa spearheaded the MVP race after the first round in men’s and women’s basketball, respectively.

Mr. Quiambao flaunted an all-around average of 16.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.86 block for 84.7 statistical points (SPs) as Mr. Dela Rosa harvested 85.0 SPs behind monstrous numbers of 18.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.43 blocks. — John Bryan Ulanday

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