MANILA—Mapua seeks to sustain its solid form when it tangles with Perpetual Help Monday in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Cardinals will be looking for their third straight victory against the Altas in the 4 p.m. game.
Mapua has finally played like the contender it was billed in the last two games, prevailing over Perpetual Help to close the first round, before nipping St. Benilde at the start of the second round.
Arellano and Emilio Aguinaldo College collide in the first game at 11:45 a.m. with both squads looking to stay in the thick of the fight for the No. 4 spot.
Tied at sixth with Jose Rizal U with identical 3-7 slates, both the Chiefs and the Generals remain in a good position to crash the Final Four for the first time since joining the league two seasons ago.
But every game will be crucial for both squads from this point on.
The Cardinals are growing in confidence and they showed steely resolve in a 94-90 overtime win over the Blazers last Wednesday.
Mapua needed to rally from a double-digit deficit in the second half, before outsteadying St. Benilde in overtime.
“We are learning our lessons from the first round,” said Mapua coach Chito Victolero, noting that the Cardinals lost at least five close games in their first nine.
The Altas, behind Jett Vidal’s 19 points, will also go into the game oozing confidence after pulling off a 63-57 upset of St. Benilde last Friday.