SBC, Faith, Letran, UPIS press quarters bid in youth caging

Focus will be on San Beda, Faith Academy, Letran and University of the Philippines Integrated School as they open their quarterfinal bids against separate opponents at resumption today of the Sunkist Youth Basketball Championship at the Makati Coliseum.

The four teams swept their elimination round assignments in varying fashions and will be the marked teams in this quarterfinal stage where the top four teams after a single round robin will advance to the crossover semifinals of this event staged by the Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.

San Beda, bannered by playmaker Joseph Casio and 6-foot-4 Claiford Arao, battles Ateneo de Manila at 1 p.m. in a Group I match that is expected to go down-to-the-wire with the Eaglets, led by Jose Reyes and Ken Barracoso, hoping to pull one over the reigning NCAA champion.

Faith Academy likewise faces a formidable opponent in Mapua in their 2:30 p.m. clash, while Letran, spearheaded by the high-scoring Oscar Kirby Reyes, tests the mettle of Ateneo de Davao in their 4 p.m. encounter.

UPIS, the UAAP titlist, and San Sebastian College tangle in the 5:30 p.m. main game, both hoping to unsettle the each other’s play pattern and gain ground in this short and crucial stretch of this event sponsored by Sunkist and backed by Air Philippines, Purefoods, Alaska, Molten, Burlington and Pagcor, Petron, Agfa and Photoplus and P.J. Lhuillier.