Defending champion San Beda and Lyceum clash today in a battle of two unbeaten teams in NCAA men’s basketball.
The anticipated thrilling match is at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s finals where the Red Lions swept the Pirates in their best-of-three series.
Lyceum eyes payback after San Beda ended the Pirates’ impressive 18-0 eliminations run with a 94-87 loss in Game 1 of finals. They never recovered and succumbed in Game 2, 92-82.
With their eight-game winning streak and the solo lead at stake, Lyceum coach Topex Robinson prays they have learned from last year’s heartbreaking experience.
CJ Perez and Mike Nzeusseu spearhead the Pirates with their consistent double-double efforts while reinforcements will come from Jasper Ayaay, who shone in their recent 87-82 comeback win against the Letran nights by draining 20 points.
While Robinson does not question his players’ determination to preserve their immaculate record, the veteran mentor warns his stalwarts there is no room to relax against a tough team like San Beda.
“I always tell them the moment they relax, someone’s going to take the ball away from them and they won’t give it back. So we’ll just continue to seize the opportunity of the moment,” said Robinson.
San Beda, for its part, will not back down from the challenge as it hopes to grab the lead from Lyceum and stretch its winning run to seven games.
Robert Bolick, Donald Tankoua and Javee Mocon will form the Red Lions’ core while James Canlas is expected to step up following a breakthrough performance in their 65-54 triumph over San Sebastian last week where he drained 10 of his 14 points the pivotal fourth period.
Meanwhile, Letran (4-3) and Mapua (2-6) hope to bounce back from recent losses in their 2 p.m. tussle.