Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — San Beda eyes a share of the lead with Letran while Perpetual Help seeks to keep its place at No. 3 as the two clash with Arellano University and Jose Rizal University, respectively, Tuesday (August 18) in the last first round playdate of the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
The Lions downed the San Sebastian Stags, 92-81, last Thursday (August 13) to extend their streak to five and improve to 7-1 (win-loss). A win over the Chiefs, the same team the former swept in last season’s finale, in their 4 p.m. duel would send it at joint first with the Knights (8-1).
The Altas, for their part, dumped the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals, 68-55, last week to stay at No. 3 with a 6-2 slate and would keep their lofty perch if they could hurdle the Bombers in their 2 p.m. encounter.
Nigerian behemoth Ola Adeogun is expected to carry the fight anew for the reigning five-peat champion after he bulldozed his way to 28 points and 14 rebounds against San Sebastian.
Adeogun and another Nigerian Donald Tankoua would be the trump cards the Lions will be hoisting when San Beda tackles an undersized Arellano U side, which relies more on its speed and shooting in absence of height.
“We’re still going to run but we’ll still try to maximize some of our advantages,” said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin.
Arellano and Jose Rizal,currently tied at No. 4 with 5-3 marks, are both coming off rousing victories with the former routing St. Benilde, 85-73, Friday and the latter escaping with a come-from-behind 90-87 win over a hardluck Mapua a week back.
Tey Teodoro will be the player to watch out for after he exploded with a career-high 32 points including 18 in the fourth quarter when the Bombers erased an 18-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining for the miraculous comeback.
Read: Teodoro explodes as JRU beats Mapua
“He’s our best player this year,” said Jose Rizal mentor Vergel Meneses of Teodoro, who has averaged a career 16 points this year.
Reigning MVP Earl Scottie Thompson and talented Nigerian rookie Bright Akhuetie were both coming off their worst games of the season after scoring just five and one, respectively, in their last game.
Good thing back up reinforcement Prince Eze and an unheralded Antonio Coronel stepped up big by combining for 33 points in Perpetual Help’s last win.
Related: Scottie Thompson’s injury mild, says Perpetual coach
