Jose Rizal University and Emilio Aguinaldo College figure in a huge collision crucial to their respective chase for Final Four spots in the NCAA Season 99 men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
With the playoff race still wide open, the Heavy Bombers and the Generals are expected to leave everything inside the court in hopes of picking up the much-needed victory and move further up the standings in the 3:30 p.m. affair.
Serving as a fitting appetizer is the match between Letran and Arellano at 1:30 p.m. with both teams already eliminated but are still looking for a strong end to their respective seasons.
Breaking into the top 4 after San Beda dropped a crucial game against Perpetual last Sunday, the 9-6 JRU is looking at key players JL Delos Santos, Ry Dela Rosa, Agem Miranda and Joshua Guiab to lead the way and help maintain its spot in the ladder.
The return of head coach Louie Gonzales, who served a one-game suspension last time out, should also bode well for the Heavy Bombers who are looking to separate themselves from the logjam in the middle of the standings.
JRU, however, couldn’t play complacent as a loss could still drag it out of the playoff picture – which is exactly the plan for the charges of EAC head coach Jerson Cabiltes.
A win for the 8-7 Generals in the crucial encounter would forge a two-way tie with their victims in the fourth to fifth spots in the standings.
Guys like JP Maguliano, King Gurtiza, Ralph Robin and Nat Cosejo should be ready to step up in the contest, especially that it was the Heavy Bombers who dealt them their first taste of defeat in the first round of eliminations.
A loss for the Generals however would mean disaster as their fate would then be dependent to the other teams ahead of them in the standings.
