NCAA S87: EAC vs UPHSD

History Lesson:
Trailing by just a point, 20-19, to the Generals early in the second period, the host school Altas instead found themselves stymied, held to just three more field goals in the first half, as EAC jumped out to a 34-26 advantage going into halftime. Perpetual Help made one more push after that, as Jett Vidal knotted things up 41-all in the third. Unfortunately, their shooters went offline again when they needed them most, as the Altas managed just one field goal in the fourth quarter's first six minutes, allowing EAC to pull ahead and get the 71-58 win. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• These two squads are pretty much locks to miss the Final Four again, with EAC at 3-9 and UPHSD at 3-10. This then becomes a race to avoid the cellar, a place they shared in Season 86 last year.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals have been hit hard by injuries in the second round, creating a difficult situation for them, as the unfamiliar rotation patterns have cranked up their turnovers to a league-worst 22 in the second round. As a result, they shoot the ball the fewest times of all the other teams, just 61.67 times a game, two less than the next closest team.
EAC Player to Watch : Remy Morada has been the guy keeping this team afloat, scoring 28 versus Arellano to keep them close, and 11 in their devastating loss to San Beda. If Joshua Torralba continues to miss games, Morada might be EAC's best scoring option, moving ahead of guys like Milan Vargas.

UPHSD Stat to Watch : After some horrible starts to games, Perpetual Help has been avoided getting off on the wrong foot recently. In their past two games, the Altas have scored 19.5 points in the first quarter, a huge improvement from 14.18 mark prior to Mapua and Lyceum in round two. They tallied three games in which they were held to just single-digit scoring in the first 10 minutes, the most in the NCAA.
UPHSD Player to Watch : Harold Arboleda top-scored for the Altas in their recent upset win over the Lyceum Pirates, finishing with 16 points and seven rebounds. While we haven't seen one of Perpetual Help's supporting cast string together back to back strong games, Arboleda has previously put up big numbers, dropping 17 versus Mapua and 10 against JRU. He's a good match-up for Jolas Paguia, whom Perpetual Help cannot allow to get hot.


Prediction: UPHSD Altas