Resurgent EAC takes on Perpetual five Tuesday
Fresh off its stunning conquest of Letran, Emilio Aguinaldo College tries to bring down another powerhouse when it collides with Perpetual Help today in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Generals are gunning for a third straight victory in the 4 p.m. duel with the Altas, who are coming off a similarly impressive 76-66 win over the Arellano Chiefs on Thursday.
Jose Rizal U and Mapua clash at 2 p.m. with the winner gaining solo fourth spot.
The Cardinals are riding high on a three-game winning run, with Nigerian center Allwell Oraeme dishing out huge performances the past two weeks.
The Bombers couldn’t sustain their momentum against the San Beda Red Lions, who dealt them a 69-88 defeat last Thursday.
EAC’s 83-69 upset of Letran sent shock waves across the league and Perpetual Help coach Aric del Rosario knows the Generals are going to be a tough match-up as their confidence is soaring.
“They’re playing inspired right now, so it’s going to be another difficult game for us,” said Del Rosario, whose squad needs a win to pull closer to the Lions (6-1) and the Knights (7-1).
EAC’s Remy Morada shot 12 of his 18 points in the final period to snuff out the Knights’ hopes of a comeback. The performance earned for him the Accel NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week honor.
Reigning MVP Earl Scottie Thompson and Nigerian center Bright Akhuetie joined forces in the triumph over the Chiefs that allowed Perpetual to take solo third last Thursday.
The 6-foot-8 Akhuetie proved unstoppable with 31 points, including 16 in the final period, while Thompson grabbed a personal season-high 16 rebounds to go with his 11 points.
