Invigorated Red Lions, Chiefs face lowly rivals

MANILA, Philippines –As much as they looked disjointed and out of synch in their previous outing, the San Beda Red Lions think order has been restored now.

Big man Ola Adeogun is back in the good graces of coach Boyet Fernandez and Baser Amer’s concussion wasn’t as bad as initially feared.

Still, the Lions expect a stern test from the Mapua Cardinals Wednesday when they clash at the start of the second round of the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Hoping to keep top spot, the defending champions, with a 7-2 record, are seeking to bounce back from a 57-68 loss to the Letran Knights just last week.

Tied on top with San Beda, Arellano U also guns for an eighth win against struggling San Sebastian in the second game at 4 p.m.

The Chiefs have turned out to be the surprise of the first round with a string of sensational performances led by playmakers John Pinto and Jiovani Jalalon.

The Stags, on the other hand, are in dire straits with a five-game slide that has seen them plummet to a tie for seventh to ninth spots.

“We’re struggling big time but I saw a lot of effort from them in the last game,” said Stags coach Topex Robinson. “All is not lost for us. We just have to go back to what we used to do and what we believe in our system.”

Arellano coach Jerry Codiñera said they hope to sustain the kind of momentum they had in the first round.