INQUIRER Sports

SAN SEBASTIAN AND SAN BEDA fight for the No. 1 seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament just two days after their thrilling showdown wrapped up the elimination round.

“It’s important to the team and it’s personal for me [to claim the top berth],” said coach Frankie Lim, whose Lions are bidding for a fourth straight crown. “We always end up at No. 1 in my first two years as coach here, so it’s really special for me.”

The Stags and the Lions, tied at 16-2, battle at 4 p.m. today at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan, right after a pair of juniors rubber matches.

“We’ll definitely make some adjustments,” said Stags coach Ato Agustin after the Lions tripped his wards in a 71-67 thriller that forged a playoff.

The winner in the Lions-Stags duel will clash with the fourth-ranked Letran Knights in the Final Four, while the losing team will take on the third-seeded Jose Rizal Bombers in the other semifinal pairing.

San Beda’s junior counterparts also shoot for No. 1 seed as the Cubs and the Letran Squires, both sharing the top spot at 17-1, tangle at 2 p.m.

Perpetual Help and Jose Rizal, tied at fourth at 11-7, will also dispute the last semifinal berth at 11 a.m.

Sudan Daniel, the Lions’ 6-foot-8 rookie ace, rebounded from his lowest production with 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks last Monday.