MGA LARO NGAYON (The Arena, San Juan City)

8:00 A.M. – San Beda vs SSC-R (Jrs)

10:00 A.M. – St. Benilde vs Letran (Jrs)

12:00 P.M. – San Beda vs SSC-R (Srs)

2:00 P.M. – St. Benilde vs Letran (Srs)

4:00 P.M. – Arellano vs Mapua (Srs)

6:00 P.M. – Arellano vs Mapua (Jrs)

SUSUNGGABAN ng defending champion San Beda University ang unang Final Four slot ng NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Sasagupain ng Red Lions sa alas-12:00 ng tanghaling laro ang San Sebastian College Stags sa Filoil Flying V Centre (The Arena) sa San Juan City.

Kung magwawagi ang San Beda, at matalo namana ng College of Saint Benilde Blazers sa alas-2:00 ng hapon laro kontra Letran Knights, mape-preserba ng Red Lions ang kanilang Final Four streak na nagsimula pa noong 2006.

Magsasagupa naman sa alas-4:00 ng hapon ang Mapua Cardinals at Arellano University Chiefs, na kapwa maghahangad na maitulak ang kanilang kampanyang makapasok sa Final Four.

Para kay San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez, malaking dagok kung hindi makakapuwesto sa top two ang Red Lions matapos ang eliminations.

Pero, kinakailangan muna nilang gawing pormal ang pagtapak sa F4.

“It’s really tough to motivate the boys especially you are a top team without a loss. I just reiterated them that we haven’t achieved everything even though we are 12-0. We still have to win more games to be in the top two and get the twice-to-beat advantage,” paliwanag ni Fernandez.

“We continue to learn every game. For sure, my boys are still young. They will learn and hopefully, the lessons that they learned in the past few games will prepare us to greater heights like being consistent in our defense,” dagdag pa ni Fernandez.

Naputol naman ang five-game winning streak ng Stags nang yumuko sa Knights, 82-99 at nalaglag sa 7-4, angat pa ng isang laro sa Blazers (6-5) sa karera sa huling semifinals berth.

Tangan ang 8-4 record, bumubuntot ang Letran sa Lyceum of the Philippines University (9-3) para sa no. 2 ranking sa semis.

Matapos naman ang magandang simula, bumagsak ang St. Benilde, na natalo ng lima sa anim nitong laro, dahilan para malaglag sa top four range.