Games Today
(The Arena, San Juan City)
12 noon – San Beda vs CSB (Srs.)
2 p.m. – Arellano vs SSC (Srs.)
4 p.m. – Perpetual vs EAC (Srs.)
Blazers winless but aching for upset.
San Beda faces winless College of St. Benilde today in a bid to remain on top of the leaderboard in NCAA men’s basketball at The Arena in San Juan City.
Game time is at 12 noon with the Red Lions gunning for their ninth victory against a single loss at the start of the second round of eliminations.
Arellano University and University of Perpetual, likewise, aim to strengthen their grip of the second spot when they battle separate foes.
Toting identical 7-2 win-loss cards, the Chiefs collide with the San Sebastian Stags (1-8) at 2 p.m., while the Altas tangle with the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (3-6) at 4 p.m.
But focus will be on San Beda, which is out to redeem itself from a 79-73 loss to Jose Rizal University at the end of the first round last Aug. 9.
“There’s no room for complacency at this stage. The second round is going to be tough, and every win is important,” said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin.
Defense will be the key for the Red Lions after currently topping the rebounding department with 50.9 boards a game.
However, they also need to limit their turnovers as they average 22.6 per game.
Davon Potts and Donald Tankoua are set to lead the Red Lions on both offensive and defensive departments since the two are currently running fourth and seventh in the overall statistics race.
But the hunger of St. Benilde to finally get that elusive win and avenge its 90-63 defeat against San Beda last July 15 are strong motivations that the Red Lions shouldn’t ignore.
Christian Fajarito, Carlo Young and Yankie Haruna are slated to banner the Blazers to get out of the rut despite the strong challenge ahead of them.