MANILA -- The playoffs of the 15th season of Ang Liga (The League) is now set.
UP battles Lyceum, while San Beda-A goes up against NU-A in the knockout semifinals of the first division of the premier pre-season college football tournament at La Salle Laguna in Biñan City on Saturday.
The top-seeded Fighting Maroons takes on the fourth-seeded Pirates in the first game at 10 a.m., while the second-seeded Bulldogs locks horns with the third-seeded Red Lions in the second game at 1 p.m.
UP, the reigning UAAP champion, took the top spot at the end of a tight elimination phase, only edging NU-A by a single point.
It was actually a down-the-wire finish from first to sixth as the Bulldogs got the second seed over the Red Lions by only one point and the Pirates took the last playoff seat against the CSB Blazers and the Ateneo Blue Eagles-A.
Meanwhile, another semifinal will happen in the curtain-raiser at 8 a.m. with San Beda-B and MCL colliding.
Supposedly, the second-seeded Red Lions will go up against the third-seeded Don Bosco Grey Wolves, but the Wolves decided to forgo the match and settle for the battle for third.
In effect, the Wizards moved up to the third seeds and the NU Bulldogs-B, which finished the regular season with a perfect 5-0-0 record and only one goal conceded, got a free ride to the Division 2 final. (PNA)
