San Beda’s Art Dela Cruz.
Stunned by Letran close to two weeks ago, defending champion San Beda has put together a two-game winning run with little fanfare.
But the Red Lions face an acid test anew Tuesday when they square off with erstwhile co-leader Perpetual Help Altas in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at Filol Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The winner in the 4 p.m. showdown will gain solo second spot behind the Knights, the surprise team so far this season with a perfect 5-0 record.
Incidentally, the only loss of both teams came at the hands of Letran, which stunned San Beda, 93-80, before toppling Perpetual Help, 79-71, last Thursday.
Jose Rizal seeks a fourth win in six games as it collides with struggling St. Benilde at 2 p.m.
The Bombers are coming off a 75-60 victory over the Pirates last Friday in a game where crack guard Tey Teodoro broke out of his slump to finish with a career-best 25 points.
The Lions recovered from the loss to the Knights by whipping the Lyceum Pirates before hammering out a 73-67 win over the St. Benilde Blazers.
“It’s already a thing of the past; what we’re more concerned about is how we can bounce back from it,” said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin, referring to their lone loss of the season.
San Beda and Perpetual Help split their two elimination-round games last season, but the Lions eliminated the Altas for the third straight season in the Final Four.
“San Beda is our gauge on how we will do this season,” said Perpetual Help’s veteran bench strategist Aric del Rosario.
Del Rosario hopes reigning MVP Earl Scott Thompson gets more support from his teammates after carrying much of the load in the loss to the Knights.
One subplot to the duel will be the battle of Nigerian big men in San Beda’s Ola Adeogun and Perpetual Help’s Bright Akhuetie, who was held to just seven points by the Knights.
In contrast, Adeogun will be entering the game on the back of his finest performance yet with 25 points and 13 boards against the Blazers.