NCAA S87: EAC vs CSB

History Lesson:
Occupying the bottom part of the NCAA standings, these two teams split their season series last year. In the first round, CSB got a 25-11 turnover point advantage, but EAC managed to endure, thanks to Milan Vargas' 17 points, as the Generals survived for a 76-71 win. Game two though saw CSB score their season-high, 83 points, as they turned in a 19-10 second quarter and a 31-16 final period as they blew out EAC and their 64 point output. These two met again in the Fil-Oil tournament, with Franz Chiong out-dueling Carlo Lastimosa 22-16, as EAC kept CSB winless, 88-75.

What's at Stake:

• Both teams stand at 3-5, and a win ties the victor with Lyceum, and possibly JRU if they can beat CSL on Friday, for the fourth spot in the standings. The loser sinks into a tie with Mapua, and Arellano, if the Chiefs can dispatch the Perpetual Help Altas.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals do an underrated job of holding opponents to a league-best four triples per game. Versus CSB, that means keeping guys like Carlo Lastimosa, Anton Altamirano, and Mark Romero in check from downtown, forcing them to slug it out in the paint.
EAC Player to Watch : Rookie forward Jolas Paguia has been up and down, after a brilliant first outing against the Chiefs, but with the other bigs in foul trouble against Letran, Paguia took advantage of the increased minutes and scored 16 points, including going 4 of 6 from beyond the arc, plus he had five rebounds, two steals and three blocks in 31 minutes off the bench. Size and speedwise, he's a good match for someone like Mark Romero or Jan Tan, shooty big men who won't try to post you up.

CSB Stat to Watch : What the Generals do best, the Blazers actually are worst at, conceding a league-high 23.5 three-point attempts on average, part of another league-high, 71.25 field goals allowed. That means more shot attempts for the likes of Joshua Torralba and Jan Jamon, both of whom can burn a team should they be allowed to catch fire.
CSB Stat to Watch : The Chiefs held Carlo Lastimosa to a career-low four points and four turnovers last week, as last season's rookie of the year seemed mildly passive, attempting just six shots. Odds are he'll look to have a huge bounce-back in this game. Even if he doesn't score, head coach Richard Del Rosario could use him as a decoy to set up other guys, especially if EAC builds their defense exclusively to stop him.

Prediction: CSB Blazers