The top two teams continue to separate themselves from the field as they remain unbeaten in five games while the race for the play-in spots heat up. See how all 10 teams are positioned as they get deeper into the elimination round.
1 Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights | Record: 5-0 (Week 3 record: 1-0) | Last week: 1st
Letran showed a bit of a crack in its armor as the Knights suffered an upset scare against Lyceum in their lone assignment this week. Some late game heroics from Fran Yu, though, bailed the defending champs as they came away with the 80-77 victory. It’s a credit to their depth, though, that a player of Yu’s caliber — a Finals MVP, no less — has gone mostly unnoticed this season. It’s a reminder to the rest of the league that this team, which leads the league in several offensive categories, still has aces up its sleeves, and it will take a lot to knock them off of their perch.
2 San Beda University Red Lions | Record: 5-0 (Week 3 record: 1-0) | Last week: 2nd
The Red Lions had a terrific showing in an 82-68 rout of the Chiefs this week, thanks in large part to their second unit. James Kwekuteye (13.4 points, 2 three-pointers made per game) is still their biggest gun, but it’s clear they have more weapons in their arsenal. Gab Cometa, averaging only 1.7 points per game heading into the week, exploded for 11 first half points to lead a San Beda bench that outscored the entire Arellano team’s output over the first two periods. With guys like Ralph Penuela, JV Gallego, Peter Alfaro, Cometa, among others, up and down the roster, there’s no shortage of contributors on this team, and that makes them difficult to scout and stop when it matters.
3 Mapua Cardinals | Record: 4-2 (Week 3 record: 1-0) | Last week: 4th
After averaging only 64 points per game over their first five games, the Mapua offense ignited for a whopping 95 points as they outgunned Perpetual with a hot-shooting performance from beyond the arc. They’re finding more firepower from sources like Toby Agustin, who accounted for five of the team’s 16 three-pointers against the Altas. This new dimension to Mapua’s game can make them a little more dangerous, and just in time, too, as they head into a crucial head-to-head clash with CSB that could have Final Four implications down the line.
4 College of Saint Benilde Blazers | Record 4-2 (Week 3 record: 0-1) | Last week: 3rd
The Blazers drop down the Power Rankings this week by virtue of a 74-68 loss to a Heavy Bombers team that entered the game 0-5. To be fair, they lost Will Gozum to a foot injury in a game where he was having a monster performance with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks. But that’s not a good look for a team trying to establish itself as a contender. Saint Benilde will have a chance to right the ship immediately when they take on Mapua on Tuesday, but they’re going to need a stronger team effort if they want to prove they belong along the top tier of teams in Season 97.
5 EAC Generals | Record: 3-3 (Week 3 record: 1-0) | Last week: 8th
EAC will move up a few spots in the rankings after an important 63-60 victory over San Sebastian last Wednesday. Ralph Robin exploded for 27 points, including seven three-pointers, in that game and that moved him up to #3 in the league in scoring with a 15.5-ppg average. He and Marwin Taywan make for a solid backcourt and guys like Allen Liwag (9.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 2.2 blocks), JP Maguliano, and Nat Cosejo are holding down the fort down low. They’ve won back-to-back games now, and have a chance to position themselves well for the play-in.
6 Perpetual Help Altas | Record: 2-4 (Week 3 record: 0-1) | Last week: 6th
Perpetual didn’t really have a great week, losing to Mapua in their lone assignment. They did an admirable job in fighting back from a 28-point deficit after a torrid shooting performance by the Cardinals, but it just wasn’t enough in the end. Their main guys continue to play well, with Jielo Razon, Jef Egan, and Kim Aurin combining to score 59 points between them against Mapua. But with three teams tied for sixth place, and two more squads breathing down their necks, they’ll need to start racking up a few wins if they want to stay in the hunt for the playoff race.
7 Arellano Chiefs | Record: 2-4 (Week 3 record: 0-1) | Last week: 7th
Arellano didn’t do much to move themselves up the rankings this week. They were outclassed by a determined San Beda team this week, 82-68, as AU star Justin Arana got into foul trouble early. Despite his struggles against the Red Lions, Arana still leads the NCAA in rebounds (13.2 per game) and blocks (2.8 per game) and is Top 10 in scoring. Axel Doromal, the only other Chief averaging double figures, scored 16 to help mitigate the big man’s subpar showing. But they’ll need more from their teammates if they want to make a strong push to close the eliminations, where they’ll have winnable games against LPU, EAC, and JRU to close their schedule.
8 San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags | Record: 2-4 (Week 3 record: 0-1) | Last week: 5th
San Sebastian only lost one game this week, and only by a slim three-point margin, but given their performances over a longer period, it’s not looking all that rosy for the Stags. They’ve lost three of their last four games and were held to 59, 60, and 60 points in those defeats. The Baste defense is allowing the fewest number of points per game of any team in the NCAA this season, but the offense has struggled to put points up the board as well ranking second to last. That’s a puzzle they need to solve soon as teams hit the most crucial part of the schedule.
9 JRU Heavy Bombers | Record: 1-5 (Week 3 record: 1-0) | Last week 10th
The Heavy Bombers barged into the win column with a huge upset over the Blazers, which had been one of the stronger teams this season. Jason Celis (15.3 ppg) and JL Delos Santos (13 ppg) are doing a hard carry job on offense, as the two players are averaging close to half of JRU’s last-place 63.2 points per game. But if their defense can hold like it did versus CSB, that might be enough to take another win or two.
10 Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates | Record: 1-5 (Week 3 record: 0-1) | Last week: 9th
The Pirates nearly pulled off the heist of the season when they came close to clinching an upset win over powerhouse Letran. With Ato Barba and Omar Larupay both having breakout games, Lyceum hung tough with the defending champs through 40 minutes, though they could not come away with the W. There’s something to build on there for sure, but at this stage of the elimination round, moral victories don’t count for enough. They need that good play to translate to wins, or they might see an early end to what’s already a shortened season come soon.
—JMB, GMA News
