COLLEGE of Saint Benilde and Mapua battle for solo third place in their effort to keep their slim hopes of securing outright Final Four berths alive on Tuesday in the National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.
Coach Charles Tiu hopes that his Blazers will regain the form that gave them four straight victories in their 12 noon match with the Cardinals.
San Sebastian College and Jose Rizal University (JRU) clash in the day’s other game at 3 p.m.
A shock 68-74 loss to last-placed Jose Rizal University a week ago put Saint Benilde in danger of missing the top two spots after the eliminations. The Heavy Bombers ended a five-game losing skid with that win.
“I hope they will bounce back and learn from the JRU loss where we were outplayed.,” Tiu said. “We need to have better focus and take every team seriously because we aren’t that good.”
Will Gozum, the team’s biggest acquisition during the pandemic, is expected to suit up after hurting his right foot in the second half against JRU.
Gozum, who will face his former Red Robins teammate Warren Bonifacio for the first time in the league, is not only coach Randy Alcantara’s main concerns when they break their tie—they’re both 4-2 won-lost—with the Blazers.
With identical 5-0 records, defending champion Letran and San Beda need to win two more games to assure themselves of outright Final Four berths with a twice-to-beat advantage.