Three teams are riding-high on four-game winning streaks while a huge logjam is forming right on the cusp of the play-in race. The league is heating up in Week 2, so see how the member schools are faring so far.
1 Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights | Record: 4-0 (Week 2 record: 1-0) | Last week: 1st
It wasn’t too busy of a week for the defending champions, but it was a successful one. They went into the Battle of Intramuros against an erstwhile unbeaten Mapua side and came out comfortably on top, winning by 20 big points. Rhenz Abando still leads the league in scoring (17 ppg) and plus-minus (+72 in four games), Jeo Ambohot is tops in field goal percentage and offensive rebounds, and the Knights are outscoring opponents by 16 points per game. All is right in Letran, at least for the moment.
2 San Beda Red Lions | Record: 4-0 (Week 2 record: 1-0) | Last week: 2nd
San Beda also had only one assignment this week and kept pace with Letran to get to 4-0. Sure, they needed a miracle putback from JB Bahio to put away San Sebastian in a classic, but a win’s a win and the Red Lions are going to take that any day of the week. James Kwekuteye (13.3 ppg) is Top 10 in scoring, and has the highest plus-minus of any NCAA player outside of the walls of Letran. While no one else is averaging double figures, they do have a nice complement of weapons, with five other players averaging between 9.5 points and 6.5 points. Their red-hot offense and depth has served them well despite some close calls in Season 97. And that has them still very much at the top of the heap.
3 College of Saint Benilde Blazers | Record: 4-1 (Week 2 record: 2-0) | Last week: 4th
The Blazers might be the hottest team in the league right now. After dropping their first game of the season, Saint Benilde has now rattled off four consecutive wins and is just a step behind the leaders in the standings. CSB is #2 in the league in terms of points per game behind consistent showings from Robi Nayve (15 points per game) and Will Gozum (13.4 points, 9.6 rebounds per game). But they’re getting a big lift from their bench as well — they’re second-best in the league in bench points behind guys like Miggy Corteza and AJ Benson, who combined for 40 points between them in a crucial win over Perpetual Help this week. They’re streaking right now, and possibly throwing their hat in the ring as a real contender.
4 Mapua University Cardinals | Record: 3-2 (Week 2 record: 1-2) | Last week: 3rd
Mapua started the week on top of the world as they drew even with the Knights and Red Lions at 3-0. But they’ve crashed back to Earth after their last two contests resulted in bitter defeats to Letran and Arellano. The Cardinals had the stingiest defense in the NCAA after their first three games, giving up only 60.7 points per game before allowing 80 points to the Knights and 72 to the Chiefs. Their lack of size has been exposed a little bit as they gave up superstar numbers to Letran’s Jeo Ambohot (16 and 12) and Arellano’s Justin Arana (17 and 15). Warren Bonifacio, though, is doing an admirable job battling against bigger rivals as he averages 10.4 points and 10.4 rebounds. But they need to figure out how to get their defense back to their early season form if they want to stay in the mix with the top teams.
5 San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags | Record: 2-3 (Week 2 record: 1-2) | Last week: 5th
San Sebastian didn’t have the best week as a couple of teams gained ground on them in the standings. But they didn’t look too shabby even in defeat, as both Mapua and San Beda needed big-time clutch baskets to put them away. They then bounced back to beat Lyceum even with starting guard Ichie Altamirano and his 10.3 points per game on the shelf. A lot of that has to do with the dominant performances of JM Calma, whose 14.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks all have him in the league’s Top 10 in those respective categories. They’ll need to start racking up some more wins if they want to hold onto this place, though, as they have a rough late schedule with matchups against CSB and Letran looming at the end of the elimination round.
6 Perpetual Help Altas | Record: 2-3 (Week 2 record: 1-1) | Last week: 8th
The Altas actually did better than Baste this week, at least in terms of their record. They split their two games, scoring a big win against the Chiefs — another team they’re battling with over playoff position — though they faltered in a comeback effort against the Blazers. They’ve got some legitimate offensive talent with Jielo Razon (14.4 points per game), Jef Egan (14.2), and Kim Aurin (13.2) all in Top 10 territory in scoring and three-pointers made. In the last two games, Perpetual’s Big Three combined to score an impressive 51 points in each contest and that should keep them in games. But they now heading into a tough stretch where they can find out what they’re really made of, as Mapua and San Beda await them in the next few games.
7 Arellano University Chiefs | Record: 2-3 (Week 2 record: 1-1) | Last week: 7th
There were times during Arellano’s three-game skid where it looked like they might be fading from the play-in picture. But a good win against a quality team like Mapua has them right back in the thick of the fight. And with a guy like Justin Arana (15.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 3.0 blocks) leading them, it’s hard to count this team out. Jordan Sta. Ana looked like he found his scoring touch (15 points on 7-for-10 shooting) in the team’s most recent game, and that makes the Chiefs a little more dangerous, just in time for what should be a slugfest for a coveted spot in the Top 6.
8 EAC Generals | Record: 2-3 (Week 2 record: 1-1) | Last week: 6th
It feels a little harsh to drop EAC in the Power Rankings after a solid 1-1 week, but that’s just a reflection of how tight the standings are at the moment. Ralph Robin has impressed lately, scoring 21 and 11 in the last two games while Marwin Taywan chips in 11.4 points and his 4.8-assist average ranks second-best in the NCAA. The Generals took care of business, 80-65, against a winless Heavy Bombers squad, but they’ll have a real shot at rocking the play-in hopefuls with games against the troika of teams they’re tied with — San Sebastian, Arellano, and Perpetual — comprising three of their last four assignments.
9 Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates | Record: 1-4 (Week 2 record: 1-1) | Last week: 9th
LPU finally broke into the win column this week with an 82-75 victory over JRU, but they couldn’t build on that as they were stumped by San Sebastian in their other outing. Their game plan of forcing turnovers and getting out on the break has been somewhat effective — they lead the league in both steals and fastbreak points — and it plays to the strengths of stalwart Enoch Valdez, who is posting impressive numbers with 15.4 points, 8.4 boards, and 2.8 steals this season, and Renzo Navarro, who is leading the NCAA in assists and is hitting 37.9-percent of his 5.8 three-point attempts. They’re not out really too far behind in the race for sixth place, but they need to start putting it together soon before it’s too late, especially with the single-round format in place this year.
10 JRU Heavy Bombers | Record: 0-5 (Week 2 record: 0-2) | Last week: 10th
It’s been a long season for the Heavy Bombers, who are still winless with more than half of their elims schedule gone by. But there’s hope that things are turning a corner. Take gunner Jason Celis, for example. He started the season ice-cold, shooting 8-for-63 for a 12.7-percent clip in the first three games. But the shots are starting to fall now and he’s made 20 out of his 43 attempts this week, good for an average of 25 points per game in the last two. If that can become infectious, they might start looking like a different team. But they need to find him and JL Delos Santos a little more help if they want to make a serious move up the standings.
—JMB, GMA News
