JRU eyes to extend streak vs Letran; Benilde faces EAC

MANILA, Philippines – Jose Rizal hopes to sustain its impressive run in the first round as it collides with a resurgent Letran even as St. Benilde seeks to keep its place inside the magic four by taking on Emilio Aguinaldo Friday in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Bombers have found some kind of rhythm after racking in four straight victories and six of their last seven games to jump to solo third place with a 6-3 (win-loss) record, or just a couple of games behind the league-leading San Beda Lions and Arellano U Chiefs, both with 8-2 slates.

Philip Paniamogan should be a marked man when he faces a stiff Letran defense at 2 p.m. after averaging 18 points including three triples a game.

Only Perpetual Help's Juneric Baloria and San Sebastian's Jaymar Perez averaged better with norms of 22.22 and 18.30 points, respectively.

Paniamogan, a proud son of Cagayan de Oro, is ready for the challenge.

"Coach (Vergel Meneses) told me to just be resilient and intelligent in picking my shots, which I'm planning to do against Letran," said Paniamogan in Filipino.

The Bombers bested the Knights in their first round meeting, 69-60, on July 14 but the latter should come fresh and inspired after bringing down the San Beda Lions, 64-53, on Aug. 13 to go into the second round with a ray of hope and a 3-6 mark.

And Meneses knows they're in for a fight.

"We all know that Letran is a tough team regardless of its current record," said Meneses.

St. Benilde, which is currently tied with idle Perpetual Help at No. 4 on 5-4 cards, will be pinning its hopes on the efficient troika of Mark Romero, Juan Paolo Taha and Jonathan Grey when tangles with EAC (3-6) at 4 p.m.

Romero, Taha and Grey have carried the Blazers this far by averaging a combined 42 points, or two-thirds of the Blazers' average per-game production.

"They're the leaders of this team, we will not be where we are right now if not for them," said St. Benilde mentor Gabby Velasco referring to Romero, Taha and Grey.