Defending champion San Beda shoots for its ninth straight victory as it takes on resurgent Mapua Tuesday in the 95th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at FilOil Flying V Centre.
With a first round sweep in sight, the Red Lions, unbeaten in 22 games dating back from last year, know that the Cardinals will enter the 2 p.m. game knowing that they have a chance to claim a big fish while playing basically pressure-free.
“It (winning streak) is tough to sustain, but we will give it our best shot,” San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez said. “We are facing a hot team and we will prepare very hard for them because they are playing well.”
The Cardinals have won their last three games.
Meanwhile, College of Saint Benilde and Letran, which are still in range of the top four despite losing their last two games, cross paths at 12 noon, while San Sebastian seeks to extend its winning run to three games against Arellano University at 4 p.m.
The Lions may have been coasting along this season, but Fernandez knows that it takes hard work to achieve his crew’s ultimate goal of completing a four-peat.
“I’m taking it on a game-to-game basis. We still have 10 more games to go. Our main objective is to make it to the top two right away,” he said. “For us, every time we win, it give us a little bit of leeway.”
“As long as we continue to play our game and get some wins, hopefully we can make it to the top two, which is our main objective,” Fernandez added.
The Cardinals, for their part, need to play a near-flawless game to pull off a reversal.
The Blazers have lost two in a row to drop at 5-2 in second place, as coach TY Tang has already figured out what it takes on contend against the league’s heavyweights.
“Mental toughness. Mental awareness playing against top teams. There’s still a lot of chances. There are still a lot of opportunities and its just only almost the end of the first round. We can still take care of our business,” said Tang.
“We hope we can translate it into action,” said Tang.