Letran, JRU play crucial NCAA match

MANILA, Philippines—An in-form Letran squad takes on Jose Rizal U for solo third spot today in the 88th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The winner of the 6 p.m. duel will have the inside track in the race for the last two Final Four berths, which is expected to go down-the-wire.

Emilio Aguinaldo College tackles St. Benilde at 4 p.m. with the Generals hoping to keep its Final Four hopes alive.

The Generals lived to fight another day after repulsing the shorthanded Lyceum Pirates, 94-72, Friday night.

The Knights have been on a roll since the return of defensive-minded center Raymond Almazan, winning five of their last six games, including a morale-boosting 82-67 blowout of the San Sebastian Stags last week.

Since blasting Letran, 101-83, in their first round duel, the Bombers cooled off, losing four of their next six games.

Their contrasting forms have led to a three-team logjam at third to fifth spots with the Perpetual Help Altas.

Letran guard Kevin Alas said the Knights won’t letup against the Bombers.

“It’s a very crucial game for us,” said Alas, the league’s leading scorer with 20.1 points an outing. “We have to bounce back big against them considering the fact that they beat us by 18 points in the first round.”

The Generals need to sweep their remaining three games to keep their bid alive, but their fate will depend on the outcome of other games.