Knights put sweep bid on line vs Chiefs

Games today 

8 a.m. – San Sebastian vs EAC (jrs)

10 a.m. – Lyceum vs Mapua (jrs)

12 noon – San Sebastian vs EAC (srs)

2 p.m. – Lyceum vs Mapua (srs)

4 p.m. – Letran vs Arellano (srs)

6 p.m. – Letran vs Arellano (jrs)

MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten Letran tries to hurdle the remaining stumbling block on its bid for a sweep of the first round, facing off with streaking Arellano today in the 91st NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

With five straight victories, the Knights hope to overcome what many believe could be the last tough challenge in their attempt to sweep the first round elims since their next three matches will be against lesser-fancied teams.

And Letran coach Aldin Ayo knows  the test his wards face in the 4 p.m. match.

“We need to play like it’s our last. We can’t afford to relax because we haven’t accomplished anything yet except win five games,” said Ayo.

A win by Letran will complete the Knights conquest of the teams that made the Final Four last season after upending title-favorites Jose Rizal U, San Beda and most recently Perpetual Help.

Mark Cruz, Rey Nambatac and Kevin Racal are again tipped to carry the scoring cudgels for the Knights against the Chiefs who swept their next four games after dropping a humiliating 61-78 defeat to the JRU Bombers in the league opener last June 27 at the MOA Arena.

The Chiefs have posted norms of 94 points in those four wins and an average of 87.4 points in the season, third only to the Mapua Cardinals’ league-best 90.6 points and the Lions’ second-running 90.5-point norm.

Arellano mentor Jerry Codiñera also stressed the need for his wards to sustain their up-tempo game against the Knights’ dreaded defense.

“We have to be more aggressive against Letran because we all know they’re known for slowing down teams. We have to make sure they don’t get their way,” said Codiñera.

Like the Knights, the Chiefs also draw some of their points off turnovers with a league-best 11.60 steals while forcing their opponents to turn the ball over 26.80 times on the average, next only to the season-high 28.40 by the Muralla-based team.

“That’s our strength and hopefully we could continue doing what we do best, which is to run, get steals and run,” said Codiñera.

Meanwhile, San Sebastian shoots for its second win in six games against winless Emilio Aguinaldo College at 12 noon while Mapua tries to even its card at 3-3 as it battles Lyceum, with a 1-4 card, at 2 p.m.