BY CHRISTINE MONCADA

LA SALLE coach Franz Pumaren yesterday admitted heaving a big sigh of relief when archrival Ateneo lost to National University last Saturday and looked ahead to their knockout battle against the Eagles tomorrow at the Araneta Coliseum.

"It was a relief. All we have to do is win over Ateneo. It’s a very important game because whoever wins will have better chances of advancing to the finals," said Pumaren.

That’s easier said than done, however, since the Green Archers have already lost twice to the Eagles in the eliminations of the 70th UAAP men’s basketball tournament.

It’s definitely better, however, than the No. 3 slot that has been reserved for the Green Archers after they dropped an 84-92 overtime decision to University of the East last Thursday, a victory that enabled the Red Warriors to complete a 14-game sweep of the eliminations and advance outright to the best-of-three title showdown.

The No. 2 slot, and a twice-to-beat advantage in the stepladder battle to determine the Red Warriors’ finals opponent, had been penciled in for the Eagles until the Bulldogs, already out of the top four cast, struck with 96-88 win last Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

The loss left the Eagles with a 9-5 card in a tie with the Green Archers and paved the way for a playoff to determine which team will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the stepladder battle.

The Archers will go into tomorrow’s game without Bryan Ilad who faces at least a two-game suspension for punching University of the East’s Mark Fampulme in the head last Thursday.

On top of the two-game suspension UAAP Commissioner Ed Cordero also wants Ilad to issue a public apology.

The Technical Committee headed by Kiko Diaz of University of the Philippines, in an emergency meeting yesterday, wants a tougher penalty for Ilad.

"The technical committee accepts the Commissioner’s decision to ask for a public apology but not the two-game suspension. We think that Mr. Ilad’s action deserves more than two-game suspension," Diaz.

"It would have been nice had we had won over NU. It would have made things easier. But we didn’t and we have to put that behind us now. We still have a game to play," said Ateneo coach Norman Black, whose charges beat the Green Archers 80-77 last July 26 and 89-87 last Sept. 9.

Despite those two wins, however, Black admitted the Green Archers are no pushovers, especially after giving the Red Warriors the fits last Thursday.