University of the Philippines and College of St. Benilde, after creating ripples all tournament long in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, find themselves on a collision course when quarterfinal action gets going this Thursday.
The Maroons, who opened the tournament with three straight losses but still managed to bag the No. 4 seeding, and the top-ranked Blazers will collide at 1 p.m. at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
St. Benilde has turned things around and will come into its clash with UP as the slight favorite even as NCAA power San Beda and Adamson tangle at 2:45 p.m.
San Beda is still stacked with holdovers from its last two title-winning teams, but while the talent is there, it is not firing on all cylinders.
But for Red Lions head coach Boyet Fernandez, his team still has a lot to show and will peak at the right time given that the NCAA tournament is still two weeks away.
“We’re getting there,” said Fernandez.
The Falcons, on the other hand, have been soaring. They are the fifth-best offensive squad and the third-best defensive team.
Head coach Franz Pumaren will bank anew on his Big Three—Sean Manganti (14.9 points), Papi Sarr (11.3 points and 7.0 rebounds) and Jerrick Ahanmisi (10.0 points)
The other quarterfinal pairings pit Ateneo versus Letran at 7 p.m. and Far Eastern against La Salle at 4:30 p.m.
Winners collide in the Final Four on Friday.