Red Lions eye 13th straight Take on embattled Chiefs today

MANILA, Philippines–Gearing up for the tougher grind ahead, San Beda shoots for a 13th straight victory against an Arellano squad trying to stay in Final Four contention today in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Superior on all fronts since the start of the season, the Red Lions are fancied to repeat over the Chiefs, who have yet to win over San Beda since they joined the league last season. Gametime is 4 p.m. with San Beda trying to inch closer to San Sebastian’s record of 15 straight victories to start the season. St. Benilde and Perpetual Help meet at 2 p.m. in a battle of teams already out of Final Four contention. The Lions are also four wins away from completing a sweep of the elimination round that will give them an automatic championship berth. “We’re not even imagining it (sweep),” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim, who steered the Lions to titles in 2007 and 2008. “Our goal is to win as many games as we can and get enough momentum going into the playoffs.” The Lions are coming off a long nine-day break, after a hard fought 90-78 triumph over Mapua last Sept. 8. With the Chiefs running sixth with a 5-8 card, Arellano U coach Leo Isaac has all but given up on the Final Four slot. “Our rule now is not to lose to teams that are lower than us in the standings,” said Isaac. The Chiefs need to sweep their last four outings, including this one over the Lions, and hope the Cardinals drop their last three.