Games Friday
(Filoil Flying V Centre)
12 noon – Perpetual vs EAC
3 p.m. – Letran vs San Beda
After almost three years, a rivalry is all set to be renewed.
Still undefeated defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran and second-running San Beda University square off on Friday at 3 p.m. in the final elimination round game of the NCAA Season 97 men's basketball tournament.
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Emilio Aguinaldo College, meanwhile, will open the double-header at 12 p.m. as the league returns to FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Knights and the Red Lions last saw each on the court on November 19, 2019, when Letran staged an upset to win the Season 95 title in three games.
And a lot has happened since then.
San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez stressed that while Letran is featuring a completely different roster compared to its Season 95 team, the heated rivalry remains and even revealed his players are just as excited.
"They're excited about it. They're looking forward to it, matagal na namin tinitignan 'yon but again, we'll see what happens," Fernandez, whose team currently sports a 7-1 slate, said.
"It's a different lineup already, different composition but still, the rivalry stays with Letran and San Beda. It's really nice to watch a game like that so we're all excited. The players are excited so hopefully we'll play good against Letran."
James Kwekuteye (14.0 points, 5.9 rebounds), a member of the Season 95 Mythical Five, leads a Red Lions team that features contributors like guard Ralph Penuela, big man JB Bahio, and Rhayyan Amsali.
With several new faces on their side as well, Letran head coach Bonnie Tan is hoping that his go-to guard, Season 95 Finals MVP Fran Yu, will show up.
"Finals MVP [siya] so all eyes on him. He's our leader so I'm sure sa mga big games like this coming Friday, he'll step up," Tan said. "We'll try to gawan ng game plan para sa Friday and sana ma-execute lang nila kasi again, sila naman 'yung maglalaro at hindi kami [sa coaching staff]."
Aside from Yu, the Knights have gotten standout performances from star transferee Rhenz Abando (15.8 points per game, #2 in the NCAA) and holdover Jeo Ambohot (11.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) this season.
With the Season 97 standings tight the games will have major repercussions in the race for outright Final Four and play-in spots.
If San Beda wins, it will clinch the top spot along with a twice-to-beat playoff incentive, knocking Letran down to #2. But a loss will mean the Red Lions will wind up in third place behind Mapua University (7-2) and into the play-in round.
Meanwhile, Perpetual and EAC, both at 3-5 and tied for sixth and seventh in the standings, are looking to book the last play-in ticket for themselves.
The Altas are coming off a crucial 72-69 win over Lyceum of the Philippines University and a win will formalize their entry to the next round.
A Generals' victory, though, will do the same for EAC.
The winner of the game will go up against streaking Arellano University in the #5 vs #6 play-in game.
—JMB, GMA News
