Red Lions test Altas mettle; Cards battle Pirates

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda and Perpetual Help clash in a duel of fancied teams today with the Red Lions gunning for a share of the lead and the Altas out to grab second place in the 88th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Red Lions swept their first two games in impressive fashions despite the absence of suspended Nigerian rookie center Ola Adeogun, beating the Arellano U Chiefs, 81-71, last June 24 and the Lyceum Pirates, 82-67, last July 2. But the defending champions face a formidable rival in the Altas, who won two of their first three games for a share of third with contender San Sebastian and Mapua.

Gametime is at 6 p.m.

A San Beda victory will put it alongside Jose Rizal University, which shows the way with three straight wins but a Perpetual reversal will get the Altas past the Lions for solo second.

“He’s a vital part of this team because he gives us size,” said San Beda coach Ronnie Magsanoc, referring to Adeogun, sacked for four games for misconduct last year. “But we have to make do with what we have and so far, our other players are holding ground.”

Perpetual Help also boasts of foreign reinforcements in Nigerians Adafemi Babayemi and Nosa Omorogbe with the Altas dishing out big games under veteran coach Aric del Rosario, including a big upset over the Letran Knights two weeks ago.

“We need to continue to show a lot of discipline and keep everything as simple as possible for us to have a chance this year,” said del Rosario in Filipino.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are tipped to move up to second ahead of the Altas as they take on the struggling Lyceum Pirates at 4 p.m.

The undermanned Mapua swept its last two games after an opening game setback, holding off Emilio Aguinaldo College, 67-63, last Monday to force a three-way tie for third.

Fil-Aussie Josan Nimes fired 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter while Kenneth Ighalo hauled down a career-high 23 rebounds to carry the Cardinals past the Generals.

Mapua, however, will still play without four of their rookies – Gab Banal, Joseph Eriobu, Mark Brana and Jessie Saitanan – who have yet to get clearance from the league to play because of lack of eligibility requirements.

“No decision yet,” Management Committee chair Fr. Vic Calvo, OP of host Letran told The STAR yesterday. “A decision could be made only after Mapua request for an eligibility meeting and submit eligibility documents so we can not clear the players yet, that’s the procedure.”