MANILA, Philippines — Still searching for its sharpest form, San Beda seeks solo top spot Wednesday when it clashes with Lyceum in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Red Lions, coming off a 34-point rout of Mapua, are fancied to claim their third win in as many games in the 2 p.m. clash with the Pirates.
But coach Boyet Fernandez knows all too well that looking past the Pirates could spell doom for his team.
The Pirates dealt the Lions one of their three defeats in the elimination-round last season.
But while the Lions woke up from that defeat and went on to claim the crown, the Pirates failed to build on the upset and missed out on the Final Four again.
“Lyceum has improved a lot, just like the other teams in the league, so we have to come prepared,” said Fernandez. “They beat us last year which really shows how dangerous they are regardless of their lineup.”
Letran and Mapua seek a breakthrough victory in the 4 p.m. showdown.
The Knights and Cardinals lost their first two games of the season with Mapua faring even worse as it dropped its matches by a combined 68 points.
Struggling to fill the void left by its solid big men last season, the Knights couldn’t find their way past the San Sebastian Stags and the Pirates in their first two games.
The Knights were left to rue missed chances in the game against Lyceum, which also saw coach Caloy Garcia put veteran Mark Cruz on the bench at crunchtime after the ace guard committed several turnovers early in the game.
The Cardinals are merely hoping to put a better fight this time as coach Atoy Co, who won only two games in his rookie season, tries to draw the best out of his players.
San Beda crushed Mapua, 89-54, last Friday with the Lions waxing hot from beyond the arc, going 14-of-27 from three-point range.
Baser Amer sparkled anew with seven triples while Ola Adeogun continued his strong play with 15 points and 11 boards.
The Pirates will try to counter with Dexter Zamora, Guy Mbbida and Wilson Baltazar.