Bombers, Altas gun for crucial wins today

MANILA, Philippines -  Perpetual Help and Jose Rizal try to keep their hold of third place and stave off a charging Letran side as they take on Arellano U and Lyceum, respectively, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan today.

Toting 8-5 slates, the Altas take on the Chiefs at 4 p.m. while the Bombers tangle with the Pirates at 6 p.m., both looking for crucial wins and some cushion against the Knights, just half-a-game behind at 8-6.

San Beda and San Sebastian continue to pace the 10-team field with 11-2 and 11-3 records, respectively, heading to the last two weeks of the double-round elims.

Perpetual and Jose Rizal are actually coming off losses with the former dropping a heartbreaking 71-73 setback to the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals and the latter absorbing a humiliating 45-67 rout from the Red Lions, both last Saturday.

Letran, meanwhile, has rebounded from a poor start with a string of victories, including a 97-83 win over St. Benilde last Monday that saw Kevin Alas explode for a league and career high 35 points.

“We just have to learn from our mistakes in the past and apply it in future games,” said Perpetual coach Aric del Rosario in Filipino.

“It’s a painful loss but we have to move on the next game and hopefully not commit the same mistakes again,” said Jose Rizal mentor Vergel Meneses, referring to their blowout loss to the defending champions.