NCAA S87: JRU vs CSJL

History Lesson:
The Heavy Bombers were able to dispatch the Letran Knights both times they played last season, starting with a hard-fought 67-62 first round win that saw JRU overwhelm Letran with second-chance points, 22 to 6, as Joe Etame, Marvin Hayes and Mark Lopez ruled the paint. Round two was even more lopsided, as the Bombers creamed CSJL in both the turnover points (33-22) and fastbreak points (21-8) categories, to win 76-60. The winning continued in the summer, as the Bombers survived a sloppy 70-65 affair behind 10 points from Alex Almario and Jeckster Apinan.

What's at Stake:

• JRU (3-5) has an opportunity to move into a tie for fourth place with a victory here, a huge accomplishment for a team that struggled early on in the season to win games minus sniper Nate Matute.
• CSJL (6-2) sees the large number of schools suddenly in the fight for fourth place, and will likely want to further increase the separation between them with a victory, while retaining the outside shot at forcing a tie for number two, with whoever loses the SBC versus SSCR match, in the second round.

JRU Stat to Watch : Both these teams like to get points off turnovers, with JRU leading the league with 19.25 turnover points. CSJL is not far away though, in second place with 18.5. What ought to be pointed out though is that JRU is more sloppy with the ball, averaging 21.75 errors, nearly three more than Letran's 19.38 clip.
JRU Player to Watch : Nate Matute will try to prove that his hot shooting versus Lyceum (23 points, 5/11 from downtown) was not a fluke and the JRU squad is hoping that it isn't, seeing as how he's their most consistent outside threat (the only threat, to be precise).

CSJL Stat to Watch : Letran's big man trio does a great job of ruling the glass, getting a league-high 25.5 offensive rebounds, while being in second place for overall rebounds, with 50.13 (behind SSCR who gets 50.75 a game). JRU's big men have been inconsistent, both on scoring and on the boards, hauling down just 17.63 offensive rebounds and 42.13 overall. That means a lot of extra possessions for the Knights should the numbers hold.
CSJL Player to Watch : Jam Cortes was a beast down low versus EAC, tallying a season-high 18 points and 20 rebounds in 32 minutes. While JRU is not a tall team, they do have some dependable big men in the likes of John Lopez, Jeckster Apinan and John Montemayor, guys who can give Cortes some trouble if they play smart defense.


Prediction: CSJL Knights