All eyes are on defending champion De La Salle University as they seek to recover from a shock loss to the University of the East (UE) in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament.

The Green Archers suffered their first defeat of the tournament at the hands of the Red Warriors on Sunday, September 22, with their comeback falling short in a 75-71 result.

They had just a couple of days to recover as the Green Archers are now set to play Far Eastern University (FEU) at the Araneta Coliseum.

“We learn from those experiences. It’s gonna make us better,” said second year Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson.

“Blaming them is the worst thing we can do. Blaming each other, blaming the players — that’s not our approach. Life goes on for us. We have to focus on FEU, so you cannot cry over spilled milk anymore. It’s done and over with,” he added.

Still without a win in four games under new coach Sean Chambers, FEU is trying to avoid its second 0-5 start in the last three seasons.

De La Salle’s defeat, the first in four games, allowed University of the Philippines to seize the solo lead with a 4-0 record.

All four victories by the Fighting Maroons were in double-digit fashions.

Meanwhile, Adamson University and National University (NU) hope to return to the win column at 6:30 p.m.

Adamson bowed to Ateneo, 51-60, which ended the Katipunan-based squad’s three-game slide to open the season, the worst start in 11 years.

NU, which has lost two in a row, suffered a 64-67 defeat at the hands of University of Santo Tomas, as life has been hard without Mali’s Mo Diassana, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on opening weekend.

The Falcons are tied with the Red Warriors in fourth place at 2-2, while the Bulldogs are level with the Blue Eagles in sixth spot at 1-3.

In the women’s division, unbeaten NU (4-0) braces for what vastly-improved Adamson (3-1) can offer in an interesting 1:30 p.m. duel, while FEU (1-3) and De La Salle (0-4) collide at 11:30 a.m. (ABS-CBN News)