San Beda, NU eye No. 4

UNBEATEN teams San Beda and National University look to tighten their grip on the top spot in their respective groups today when they battle separate rivals in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Preseason Cup.

Sporting a 3-0 record, the Lions take on the University of the Philippines Maroons at 3:30 p.m., after the NU-Arellano clash. Ateneo tries to bounce back from a close defeat as it clashes with University of Santo Tomas in the third game at the Filoil Flying V.

The Lions are coming off a 65-63 victory over the Eagles in a rematch of last year’s finals. But while Lions rookie coach Ronnie Magsanoc was satisfied with the victory, the former PBA star believes his team has yet to play to its full potential.

“I’m happy with the enthusiasm shown by the players, but we’re still in the process of putting in the system,” said Magsanoc.

“We can be happy now, but we can’t stop. There will be challenges along the way and we should continue to learn from each other and improve.”

San Beda hopes to produce a better start this time as it needed to rally from 16 points down to edge Ateneo.

Nigerian center Ola Adeogun and Baser Amer sparked the run that turned the tide for the Lions, although Magsanoc believes it was still his team’s defense that spelled the difference.

The Bulldogs are also seeking a fourth straight victory against an Arellano team oozing confidence after posting its first win under coach Koy Banal.

UAAP Most Valuable Player Ray Parks is fresh off his finest performance of the pre-season, finishing with 29 points in NU’s 85-79 victory over Far Eastern U.

Ateneo has plenty of weapons to keep UST on its toes with Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena posing matchup problems.