NCAA S87: EAC vs SBC

History Lesson:
The San Beda Red Lions gave the EAC Generals a shelling they won't forget, shaking off a slow start by getting out and running to counter the probationary squad's 2-3 zone. As a result, the defending champs broke 50 at halftime, 52-35, and then nearly doubled their total, to wind up with a 103-62 final score, the largest difference between two teams of the season. Garvo Lanete scored a career-high 32 points while the Generals made do with Jan Jamon's 13.  (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At one point contending for the fourth seed, the EAC Generals have slipped lower and lower to their current record of 3-8. second worst in the league. Though there are still a lot of games to be played, they'll have to hurdle five other teams to make it into a Final Four spot, though knocking off the defending champs would be a huge statement if they could pull it off.
• The 9-1 Red Lions looked lethargic against the Perpetual Help Altas in their first game of the second round. But after given more than a week off to absorb their loss to San Sebastian, San Beda ought to be back in top gameform, looking to keep their record at just a single loss leading up to the inevitable rematch between them and last season's runners-up.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals have started the second round horribly, unable to grab a rebound as they've been held to a paltry 29.5 caroms, 9 on the offensive end, in their two games so far. Their one reliable big man, Claude, Cubo, has not been Mr. Double-Double as he was last season, getting double-digit boards just three times this season. Other guys like Rafael Sanchez and Dhan Diolanto have not been productive either, especially in light of things like Jolas Paguia's one-game suspension and Joshua Torralba's injury. With the assortment of bigs on San Beda, this trend might continue for yet another game.
EAC Player to Watch : If Torralba and Milan Vargas are out again for this game, then the scoring chores will fall on the shoulders of Jan Jamon, who scored 13 points in 19 minutes in their first encounter. Jan Jamon still averages 43 percent from downtown, and 88 percent from the line, so if he can mix up his game versus the Red Lions, he may be able to help the Generals avoid a complete blowout.

SBC Stat to Watch : With opponents constantly zoning the Red Lions to negate their height advantage, it's imperative that San Beda make outside shots to break down the defense. They haven't been able to do that in their past two games, which explains their struggles. They're just 4 of 29 versus San Sebastian and Perpetual Help, for 14 percent shooting. If Garvo Lanete can come online like he did in their first EAC game, that shouldn't be an issue in this match.
SBC Player to Watch : Speaking of Lanete, he's been in a minor slump as of late. He tallied 18 versus San Sebastian but had zero in the fourth quarter. Then he had just his second single-digit scoring game, notching nine versus Perpetual Help, going 3 of 11 from the field (coincidentally he also only had seven in their first round game). If he scored 32 on EAC the first time they met, surely this will be slumpbuster for him right?

Prediction: SBC Red Lions