Maroons, Knights eye 2nd in row

MANILA, Philippines - University of the Philippines and Letran both eye a second straight win to stay in contention for a quarterfinals berth in the 2011 Filoil Flying V Hanes Pre-Season Premier Cup.

The Knights and the Maroons are both coming off convincing wins in their last games and will try to ride that momentum when they face separate opponents today at the Flying V Arena in San Juan.

UP (2-2) collides against struggling Emilio Aguinaldo College (1-3) at 2:15 p.m., to be followed by the match between Letran Knights (2-3) and the Mapua Cardinals (1-1) at 4 p.m capping another heavy bill in the tournament presented by Mighty Bond Xtreme and Elastoseal with major sponsors Filoil Flying V, Gerry’s Grill, BDO, Oxycan, Bayo, Molten. Total Phils., TMS Ship Agencies Inc., Cobra Energy Drink and San Marino Tuna.

The Diliman-based Maroons and the Knights, along with Jose Rizal University (2-2), figure in a tight battle for the No. 3 and No. 4 slots in Group B wherein only the top four will advance to the quarterfinals.

A win for both teams will give them win No. 3 and allow them to leapfrog the idle Heavy Bombers.

UP won a tough grinder against JRU, 80-71, in its last game and its first year coach Ricky Dandan wants his team to capitalize on that win and continue playing hard.

‘’I’m happy that the team is starting to come along together. I told them that we have to continue our development as we go along and win as many as we can here,’’ said Dandan.

As for Alas’ Letran, which defeated St. Benilde 87-76 in its last game, the approach is simple as it is still trying to find its identity as a team.

‘’They told me they aren’t enjoying the games as much so I allow them to free-will a bit on offense but I told them they need to lock it down on defense for us to win,’’ said Alas.

On the other hand, a Mapua win will place it right in the mix for a berth in the quarters in the same group.