RIDING high on its brilliant form in the second round, Letran seeks to stay in the fight for the remaining semifinal bonus when it tackles Arellano today in the 88th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Gametime is at 4 p.m. with the Knights hoping to finish the elimination-round with 12 wins that puts them level with the San Sebastian Stags, who are slated to face San Beda on Monday.
With San Sebastian winning over Perpetual Help, 80-62, last Thursday, Letran is left with no recourse but to beat Arellano—a team that dealt them a 77-67 defeat in the first round.
A loss will seal the No. 3 seed for the Knights in the Final Four and hand the Stags of the No. 2 seed and the twice-to-beat edge.
Perpetual Help and Jose Rizal U, which both finished the elimination-round with identical 10-8 records, will dispute the remaining Final Four berth on Thursday.
The Knights fashioned out a tremendous turnaround in the second round, winning all but one of their eight games to clinch a Final Four berth.
Key players
Among those instrumental to the turnaround were Raymond Almazan and Kevin Racal, who raised their game up a notch in the last few games, while the Knights consistently drew solid numbers from Jam Cortes and Kevin Alas.
Cortes, on his final playing year for the Knights, is coming off his finest game as a Knight, pouring a career-high 25 points aside from grabbing 14 boards against Emilio Aguinaldo College, 86-80, last Saturday.
The Chiefs bowed out of Final Four contention last week, but big performances from rookies James Forrester and John Pinto give coach Koy Banal plenty of hope for next season.
Forrester, a Filipino-Canadian, has proven to be a reliable scorer for the Chiefs, while Pinto has shown composure belying his status as a neophyte in the league.
No bearing
Mapua and St. Benilde—two teams already out of the Final Four race—try to finish the season on a positive note as they collide in the second game at 6 p.m.
Sporting a 7-10 record, the Cardinals are looking to surpass their win total from last season.
On the other hand, the Blazers hope to salvage some pride in a season that saw them disintegrate in the second round.