Crucial NCAA triple bill: Red Lions try again

Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

THE NCAA Final Four picture could get clearer Tuesday when the league’s top three teams shoot for crucial victories against separate rivals at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

San Beda tries to nail at least a playoff for a Final Four spot when it battles Jose Rizal U, while Arellano and Perpetual Help clash with Lyceum and Letran, respectively, in a triple header with huge postseason implications.

Toting a league-leading 11-3 record, the Red Lions look vulnerable as they tackle a Jose Rizal squad in the midst of its best stretch of the season, while the Chiefs hope to regain their form against the struggling Pirates.

Coming off a morale-boosting victory over the Chiefs last Friday, the Altas can push the defending champion Knights to the brink of elimination with a victory in their 4 p.m. clash.

The Lions bungled their first opportunity to clinch a Final Four playoff spot following a 97-101 overtime defeat to the Mapua Cardinals.

San Beda coach Jamike Jarin is still devising ways for the Lions to cope with the continued absence of the injured Donald Tankoua.

The Lions dropped two of their last four games without the 6-foot-5 Tankoua.

“We have to step up as a team not just rely on one, two or three players,” said Jarin.

The Bombers have an edge in the interior with Abdel Poutouochi and Abdul Razak Abdul Wahab taking turns in manning the paint.

“San Beda is still a strong team but we’ll try to take advantage of that hole inside,” said Jose Rizal mentor Vergel Meneses.