Lions eye lead against Stags

RYUSIE Koga of San Beda dives to protect the ball against Perpetual’s Scottie Thompson. Koga and the Red Lions face San Sebastian today. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Defending champion San Beda seeks a share of top spot when it battles a dangerous San Sebastian squad Thursday in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

A victory by the Red Lions in the 4 p.m. duel will allow San Beda to tie Letran on top with a 7-1 record.

Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College battles  Lyceum in a showdown between teams in the lower half of the standings at 2 p.m.

The Generals saw their two game winning run snapped after absorbing a 55-68 loss to the Perpetual Help Altas last Tuesday. Lyceum is in dire straits after losing its last five games.

The Lions are actually gunning for a fifth straight victory after an impressive win over Jose Rizal U last week.

San Beda’s lone loss came against Letran, 80-93, but the Knights also fell in a stunning  55-68 upset to the Emilio Aguinaldo College last week which opened the door for the Lions to pull level just before the end of the first round.

“We just try to come out aggressive each game after that loss to Letran,” said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin.

The Lions have been leaning on the brilliance of Art dela Cruz who has averaged 21.86 points, 13 rebounds, 6.14 assists and 1.57 steals in seven games. Dela Cruz’s big performances have allowed the Lions to cope with the absence of the injured Baser Amer.