NCAA S87: SBC vs SSCR

History Lesson:
His shot off all game long, Ronald Pascual drove hard to the basket and found Calvin Abueva for an easy lay-up for what turned out to be the go-ahead basket. Turnovers and missed free throws by Ian Sangalang left the door open for San Beda however, but they came up empty on their final two looks at the basket. Off a timeout, Anjo Caram missed long two-pointer, then after Abueva went out of bounds trying to save the ball, the best shot the Red Lions could get was a corner triple by Dave Marcelo that clanked off the rim, ending San Beda's undefeated streak, as the Stags survived, 70-68. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• Up for grabs is positioning for the Final Four, as both these squads have clinched a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs. Should San Sebastian win, they'll be matched up against the JRU Heavy Bombers, while San Beda gets to extend their dominance over the Letran Knights. A San Beda win however, forces a playoff for the top seed.

SBC Stat to Watch : As much as possible, the defending champions want to get up and run, and put points on the board in a bad way. For whatever reason, the Red Lions just aren't equipped to deal with a low-scoring game, producing their two lowest outputs in their losses, just 68 and 65 markers.
SBC Player to Watch : Garvo Lanete was held to 0 points and a combined 0/8 from the field in the fourth quarter of SBC's two losses, showing how key this fifth-year veteran is to the team's fortunes. Now the Stags played the situation by guarding him tightly in the fourth quarter, giving him just two attempts and making other guys beat them, which they failed to do. That seems more likely than the 0/6 clip he exhibited versus JRU, which is pretty flukey.

SSCR Stat to Watch : When they lost to Letran, the Knights were able to "ugly up" the game, preventing the Stags from getting out in transition, and scoring off turnovers. San Sebastian got a combined 17 points from fastbreak and turnover points, their second-lowest since their near-loss to Perpetual Help, in which they tallied just 14.
SSCR Player to Watch : Ian Sangalang is the lone guy the Stags can throw it to in the post and watch create, as Dexter Maiquez and Bobby Balucanag are limited to scoring off offensive boards. In the first game, Sangalang was limited to 3 for 7 shooting from the field, 3 for 8 from the line, with just eight rebounds, leaving the door open for the Red Lions to win after flubbing late free throws. They'll need a sharper performance from him in this game if they want to avoid having to play yet another match.

Prediction: SBC Red Lions

NCAA S87: LPU vs CSB

History Lesson:
Playing without a flu-stricken Carlo Lastimosa, the short-handed CSB Blazers were ambushed by guest team Lyceum, in their NCAA debut. Up 38-30 at the half, Ian dela Paz and Mark Romero pulled CSB to within two out of the break, but Chris Cayabyab stymied that rally and then Allan Santos took over in the fourth quarter with 13 of his 19 points, handing the Pirates their first victory, 75-63. (Recap here) 

What's at Stake:

• Both these squads are currently at 6-11. A win ties the victor with the 7-11 MIT Cardinals for fifth, which would allow the head coach to say, "Hey, we finished a slot out of the Final Four. We can build on this!" 

LPU Stat to Watch : Lyceum's schedule gave them San Beda and San Sebastian consecutively, which led to predictably horrible results, as the Pirates were held to just 67.5 points and 32.68 percent shooting. That stands in direct contrast to Benilde's defense, which concedes 77.94 points and 41.88 percent from the field, so the Pirates ought to be able to score on the Blazers.
LPU Player to Watch : Chris Cayabyab had a superb debut against CSB, with his best shooting game of the season, 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He'll look to reprise that in the final game of the season after getting held to just seven points, 3 of 17, against San Sebastian.

CSB Stat to Watch : As a revamped team, playing without their best player, the season opener of the Blazers had them turning the ball over 26 times, as they clearly hadn't gotten used to playing with one another. They've normed 16.81 mistakes since then, although they notched 25 against EAC in their last outing.
CSB Player to Watch : Sitting out the first game, Carlo Lastimosa was unable to engage Chris Cayabyab in a scoring duel, and though his numbers are down from his rookie of the year season last year, Lastimosa is still an explosive threat, especially if Jonathan Grey won't play again.

Prediction: LPU Pirates

NCAA S87: EAC vs JRU

History Lesson:
While sniper Nate Matute was out with a groin injury, it sure didn't seem like JRU needed him to disarm the Generals, outmatching them early by getting out in transition. Forcing 32 turnovers, the Heavy Bombers scored 30 turnover points, as John Villarias and John Lopez won this one easily, 76-60. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 8-9, JRU has already clinched the fourth seed in the playoffs and can't catch up with Letran. They can however, enter the Final Four with momentum on their side, and a .500 record if they win this one.
• Currently 4-13, EAC is trying to make history repeat itself. They finished Season 86 tied with Perpetual Help, and a win would allow the Generals to drag a team down to the bottom with them, so to speak. Should they lose though, they'll have last place all to themselves.

EAC Stat to Watch : EAC is in last place when it comes to free throw attempts and makes, but they should have plenty of opportunities to go to the line given the physical nature of JRU's defense. They'll just have to hope they convert more than their normal 61.54 percent clip, which is in the bottom half of the NCAA.
EAC Player to Watch : Jan Jamon will look to close out the season with his third straight 20-point game. Averaging 23.5 points on 52.94 percent shooting, the EAC coaching staff has to concede that riding a sharpshooting Jamon might be their best bet at getting a "W."

JRU Stat to Watch : JRU will look to get a repeat of the first game by forcing the Generals into turnovers, for easy points. That may not be a problem, considering how the ball-handling situation of that team has actually deteriorated. EAC gave up 15.1 turnover points on average in the first round, but it bloated up to 19 in the second round.
JRU Player to Watch : Jeckster Apinan has been JRU's best rebounder, hauling down double-digit boards in nine of the team's 17 games. With EAC lacking ceiling outside of Claude Cubo, Apinan ought to dominate his match-up, and thus, the interior.

Prediction: JRU Heavy Bombers

NCAA S87: CSJL vs SBC

History Lesson:
Down by 11 at the start of the fourth quarter, Letran couldn't get going at the start of the final period, surrendering four straight scores by the Red Lions, putting them in jeopardy. Making matters worse was the fact that their big men, Jam Cortes and Jonathan Belorio, fouled out in the process of those four scores. The sole remaining Knights big man, Raymond Almazan, was able to make it 12 after hitting two charities, 58-49, but by then, the offense of Letran had been exhausted, and San Beda was able to kill time, resulting in the 77-62 win. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 14-3, Letran wants to end their elimination round stint with a victory. Doing so would send the 14-2 San Beda Red Lions to their third loss, and open the door for the Knights to climb up to the second seed should the defending champs fall once more to San Sebastian. On the other hand, should San Beda win, they effectively lock up the twice to beat advantage in the Final Four and could go up to #1 depending on the margin of victory (quotient rule)

CSJL Stat to Watch : Despite being the team known for getting to the line most frequently with an average of 31.65 attempts per game, it was the Red Lions who were more aggressive in round one, taking 26 free throws to just 18 by the Knights. Given their lack of depth up-front, Cortes and Belorio ought to be the guys taking it to the rim, and not the other way around, lest they get a repeat and find themselves on the bench with five fouls.
CSJL Player to Watch : San Beda saw Raymond Alamazan as a non-threat to score and the big guy proved them wrong, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. He also got to the line a team-best 14 times, making eight charities. More importantly, he also finished with 0 fouls.

SBC Stat to Watch : Since their loss to JRU, San Beda has worked on honing their pressure defense. In the last four games, they've upped their average in turnover points from 17.1 to 20.5 despite dropping from 20 forced turnovers a game to 16.5. It's bound to be a chippy game if these two sides decide to press each other to death.
SBC Player to Watch : San Beda's extra possessions guy Jake Pascual scored just four points, but hauled down six offensive rebounds and blocked four shots in 25 minutes. His hustle will really help this team, and his defense will be called upon to hold Cortes down.

Prediction: CSJL Knights

NCAA S87: CSB vs EAC

History Lesson:
Shrugging off a 10-point game from Carlo Lastimosa as well as a near skirmish that cost the Blazers Jan Tan, and the Generals Jolas Paguia, CSB was able to surge ahead after the double ejection, scoring 13 unanswered that put them up 55-36. Baskets by Jan Jamon and Joshua Torralba tried to get EAC back into the game, but the lead was too great, and with the Generals defense non-existent, the two sides virtually swapped baskets back and forth in the final period, giving St. Benilde the 80-68 victory (Recap here). 

What's at Stake:

• The 5-11 St. Benilde Blazers and the 4-12 Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals will try to avoid the cellar position by trying to win their last two assignments. 

CSB Stat to Watch : The Blazers allow opponents the most attempts from three-point land, 20.75 per game, and the most makes at six per outing. That's actually the same numbers EAC churns out on average, meaning if CSB isn't careful, they could find themselves buried in an avalanche of long bombs.
CSB Player to Watch : Jump-shooting big man Jan Tan has been underachieving this entire season, but he hit his low point versus Letran, missing all but one of his 11 attempts from the field and grabbing just three rebounds in the process. He'll be looking to bounce back in this game, but he'll likely be paired up against Claude Cubo, or his sparring buddy Jolas Paguia, both of whom can give him fits and make him settle for more ill-advised long shots.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals turn the ball over the most times in the league, at 21.6 miscues a game, and past experience has shown that the Blazers are now slouches when it comes to running back turnovers for points, scoring 27 and 24 against SSCR and JRU respectively, two other careless teams. This could be an easy source of points for CSB if the Generals display their usual brand of sloppiness.
EAC Player to Watch : Jan Jamon dropped 27 points in 30 minutes in the Generals' last game versus MIT, a career-high for him. EAC made that game a shoot-out and failed to win, but they're a better match versus CSB, given how their big men aren't stand-outs as well. If that's the route they take, Jamon will likely be the centerpiece of that attack.

Prediction: CSB Blazers

NCAA S87: AU vs UPHSD

History Lesson:
Coming close doesn't count for a lot in the NCAA, but the Altas did find themselves with a winnable game. Gerald Lapuz halved his charities to put the Chiefs up 71-62, but star player Jett Vidal countered with a triple, reducing the deficit to six, 1:34 left. Concentrated defense by the Altas drew two turnovers from the sloppy Chiefs, but the host school could not convert on the other end, with Vidal failing to repeat his make from downtown on two tries. They got close enough to make it 71-65, but by then, the clock had ran out, giving Arellano back to back wins for the first time in the season. (Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• There's nothing at stake but pride in this game, as the 6-11 Chiefs take on the 4-13 Altas.

AU Stat to Watch : We know that the Chiefs love to zone, and when they do, they're vulnerable to three-point shots if they don't rotate quickly enough to the open guy. They didn't do that in the first half of the season, giving up 34.98 percent shooting from downtown and 6.87 makes. Well they seem to have righted that ship in the latter part of the year as that percentage has dropped down to 26.28 percent and four treys. Given that the Altas take and make the most triples in the league, that defense will be tested in their final game of the season.
AU Player to Watch : Andrian Celada's numbers are down across the board from his Mythical Five selection season a year ago, but the graduating senior will likely look to leave with a bang before heading off to the PBA-DL, and perhaps, the PBA after that.

UPHSD Stat to Watch : The Altas bucked a 33 percent shooting clip to beat Letran from the line, going 21 of 26 from the stripe. That's 80.77 percent, their best for the entire season, believe it or not. Can they repeat that feat?
UPHSD Player to Watch : Jett Vidal out-dueled Kevin Alas in their upset of Letran, with Vidal scoring 18 on 5 of 13 field goal shooting, and more importantly, 7 of 8 from the line. If he can match the production of Celada, then the Altas will likely be in good shape.


Prediction: AU Chiefs

NCAA S87: JRU vs MIT

History Lesson:
The Mapua Cardinals choked away a 60-48 fourth quarter advantage, as stingy JRU defense late held MIT to just nine points, while scoring 22 of their own. Raycon Kabigting caught fire late, scoring seven of his 14 in the final period, while on the other end, Mapua helped dig their own grave, when an errant elbow by Yousef Taha drew blood on Allan Mangahas, forcing the Cardinals to sit their veteran point guard. Without his leadership, Mapua could not execute on the final play, after a split at the line by Alex Almario. Though they had 17.8 seconds left to make a play, smart use of fouls to give by JRU had Josan Nimes inbounding with 1.8 seconds left. The Heavy Bomber defense immediately swarmed the ball-handler off the pass, and as a result, JRU squeaked by with a 70-69 win. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• With two games remaining on their slate, the 7-9 JRU Heavy Bombers could knock the 7-10 Mapua Cardinals out of contention with a win here. On the other hand, an MIT victory means the Cardinals will at the very least, figure into a playoff, should it comes down to that. 

JRU Stat to Watch : The streaking Heavy Bombers extended their win streak to four after thrashing the Altas. They've managed to hold opponents to just 63.5 points in that span, a big improvement from the period prior to their streak, in which they gave up roughly 73 points. Mapua currently norms 72.18 points, but they've lost 4 of their last 5, and in each defeat, failed to break the 70 point barrier.
JRU Player to Watch : After scoring in double-digits just twice in their first 11 games, team captain Raycon Kabigting has found his groove, with a five game streak of scoring 10 or more points. They'll need him to help spread the floor for their big men, along with Byron Villarias and Nate Matute.

MIT Stat to Watch : The Cardinals have a ton of big men to help patrol the paint, but their perimeter defenders like Jumel Chien and Andretti Stevens are more nuisances than real obstacles, leading to the Cardinals conceding a 33 percent clip from downtown, worst in the league. Considering how JRU has found their range from downtown (leaping from 19.53 percent in round one to 31.37 percent in round two), the last thing the Cardinals need is to watch JRU connect on long-range jumpers.
MIT Player to Watch : Is Yousef Taha a liability or an asset? While is scoring is up, thanks to a lengthy miss-less streak at the free throw line (13/13 in his last two games), his field goal percentage and rebounding goes up and down seemingly without rhyme or reason. The bigger problem though are his turnovers. He hasn't committed less than three since July 27 and is averaging a team-worst 4.75 turnovers in the second round.

Prediction: JRU Heavy Bombers

NCAA S87: CSJL vs CSB

History Lesson:
Normally known for their defense, the Letran Knights got suckered into a shoot-out, as both sides simply traded baskets for most of the game. For three quarters, St. Benilde was able to keep things tight, with a Jan Tan basket knocking the lead down to single digits, 80-72, in the first salvo of the fourth. That was the last time they'd be that close though, as a 15-6 Letran run by big men Jam Cortes and Jonathan Belorio sent the Blazers staggering. Carlo Lastimosa attempted a belated rally, but there simply wasn't enough time, and by then, even the Letran third-stringers had caught fire, closing out the game with a 7-0 run. The final score read 112-91, as Coach Alas' troops earned the distinction of being the first team to break the century mark in the season. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• Letran improved to 13-3 after inflicting the first loss on San Sebastian. If they're to force a playoff with San Beda for the second seed though, they'll have to hope the defending champions suffer at least one more loss, while they themselves take care of business. That means the Knights can't overlook the Blazers, as they did to the Altas.
• St. Benilde's 5-10 record means they have an outside shot of forcing a playoff for the fourth seed, should JRU, Mapua and Lyceum all suffer horrific collapses. That's highly unlikely, but they'll want to put themselves in a position to benefit should the highly improbable happen.

CSJL Stat to Watch : The Knights got more looks at the basket, which translated easily into more points. They took 20 more attempts than St. Benilde's 57, courtesy of a combination of offensive rebounds (28) and Blazer turnovers (19). Given how Benilde gives up the most offensive boards (17.53) in the league, the latter might be more likely, seeing as how CSB on a good day, turns the ball over just 17.33 times, fourth best in the NCAA.
CSJL Player to Watch : The Knights exploited CSB's lack of height by getting the ball down low to Jam Cortes, who responded with 19 points and 12 rebounds. With Mark Romero no longer around for the Blazers, that further decreases the frontcourt options available to them to stop the Letran bigs like Cortes.

CSB Stat to Watch : The Blazers were able to stay in step with Letran in terms of freethrow attempts, getting 42 to the Knights' 43. If CSB makes a concentrated effort to attack the rim and get the opponent's bigs into foul trouble, they may have a shot at winning this game.
CSB Player to Watch : In his first game back since his whatever-you-want-to-call-it one game absence from the team, Carlo Lastimosa played an efficient 19 minutes, leading to 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting. While he'll likely be tempted to draw Kevin Alas into a shootout, a more measured performance might serve CSB better, considering how the Knights can turn misses into long rebounds into fastbreak opportunities for themselves.

Prediction: CSJL Knights

NCAA S87: SSCR vs CSJL

History Lesson:
Kevin Alas nearly engineered a comeback for the Letran Knights, as twin buckets had them within three points, 51-48. That was far as they would go though, as the San Sebastian Stags went to their main man Calvin Abueva to halt the bleeding. "The Beast" delivered with an and-one play, and then Ronald Pascual added to the tally, making it 56-48 in a blink of an eye. They could have padded it further, with an outlet pass going Abueva's way, but Alas was there to give up the foul. Unfortunately, that happened to be his fifth personal, and with him out, the Knights gasped one last breath, in the form of Mark Cruz and Kevin Racal scores, before finally collapsing under the Stags' offense, 71-62. (Recap here)

What's at Stake: 

• The Stags are three games away, 15-0, from an elimination-round sweep and will likely be looking to assert their dominance after back to back heart attack games courtesy of Perpetual Help and Mapua. 
• Letran suffered a shocking loss to the Perpetual Help Altas, sending them down to third place with a 12-3 record, conceding the second seed to the San Beda Red Lions. Beating the current chart-toppers would not only help their morale, but marring San Sebastian's perfect record also means stopping a potential stepladder situation.

SSCR Stat to Watch : Simply put, defense wins championships, as well as key regular season match-ups. In their first encounter, the Stags were able to put the clamps on the Knights, holding them to a season-low 25.27 percent from the field, helped out by their "encouragement" to Letran to take outside shots (they were just 4 for 31, for another season-low, 12.9 percent from downtown). A repeat of that performance is unlikely, but something close to that (see what Perpetual Help did, for example) would certainly key in a win.
SSCR Player to Watch : Ronald Pascual was surprisingly low-key in their first match, scoring just 13, without a triple and notching six turnovers to boot. He was however able to draw scoreless outing from VJ Espiritu so it wasn't all bad. But if the Knights are able to contain Sangalang, then Abueva simply can't do it alone and will need his outside shooting to help space out the defenders.

CSJL Stat to Watch : Hustle points might be the key to stopping San Sebastian. The Knights got a some of that right by doubling the Stags' second-chance points 18 to 9. But despite forcing 20 turnovers on their opponents, the Knights only managed 10 turnover points, the same amount the Pinatubo Trio and company scored off their 14 errors. After scoring just four in that stat versus the Altas, the Knights simply have to get back to their strengths.
CSJL Player to Watch : Raymond Almazan posted 11 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks while battling Ian Sangalang to a standstill in round one, and that's the sort of performance the Knights will need from him. They're in trouble if he falls to foul trouble early, as he's their best match-up versus his San Sebastian positional counterpart.

Prediction: Letran Knights

NCAA S87: LPU vs SBC

History Lesson:
Down a man to start the game with point guard Shane Ko out with a wrist injury, the Pirates barely held on, as the Red Lions ran rampant, getting out and running in the face of the LPU zone, amassing 15 fastbreak points and 24 turnover points. Triples, mostly from reserve Dexter Zamora, allowed Lyceum to prevent things from escalating into a full-on rout, they shot 11 of 21 from downtown, but in the end, they still lost by 20, 89-69. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• The 13-2 San Beda Red Lions will look to keep winning in order to stay ahead of the idle 12-3 Letran Knights in the battle for the second seed and the twice-to-beat advantage that comes with it. 
• With the 7-10 Mapua Cardinals falling in an upset to Arellano, the 6-9 Lyceum Pirates still have a an outside shot at the last Final Four berth, but they'll need to sweep their remaining games to make it happen. Toppling the Red Lions would go along way to helping them out. 

LPU Stat to Watch : Lyceum's first round encounter versus San Beda was one of the four times this season the Red Lions were unable to get to the line more than the other team, as the Pirates drew three more attempts than their opponents, 20 to 17. If the smaller Pirates get into attack mode, draw fouls from the bigger frontcourt players sending them to the bench, and prevent them from getting up in transition, they may have a slight chance of pulling off an upset.
LPU Player to Watch : Shane Ko's averages of 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists are not out of this world, but he's a better ball handler and is less likely to panic when the pressure defense comes. What's clear is that they cannot notch 28 turnovers again, and Ko can definitely help keep that number down.

SBC Stat to Watch : The Red Lions took full advantage of the lack of the Lyceum starting point guard, forcing them into a San Beda record for the season, 28 turnovers. Along with fastbreak points, those are two areas head coach Frankie Lim will likely concentrate on, to allow the Lions to get easy scores before Lyceum's zone sets up.
SBC Player to Watch : Dave Marcelo has a nice two-game double-digit scoring streak going on, and the common thread between Arellano, CSB and Lyceum is that they lack the combination of height and strength to stop Marcelo and company from rampaging through the paint. Thus, it looks like Marcelo will be in for another big game when these two sides play.

Prediction: SBC Red Lions

NCAA S87: MIT vs AU

History Lesson:
A back and forth duel between these two teams made for a tense fourth quarter, as both sides continued to exchange the lead late in the game. Off their last timeout, the Cardinals went to Yousef Taha who scored on a fade-away shot down low, tying things at 70-all. Using their last timeout, Arellano went to Vergel Zulueta who missed on his drive, giving the ball back to Mapua. Timely usage of their fouls to give forced MIT to inbound with seconds to go, but on the last deadball, the Cardinals inserted Allan Mangahas, who was unaffected by his long cooling period riding the pine in the fourth. "The Snake" caught the inbounds from Jonathan Banal and calmly launched a triple that connected, winning the game for his team, 73-70. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• Tied with the JRU Heavy Bombers as both teams sport 7-9 records, anything Mapua can get to build separation will be vital in the battle for the fourth seed in the standings. 
• The Arellano Chiefs are out of the running with a 5-11 record (mathematically they're alive, but the scenario they need requires everyone ahead of them losing), and so will have to be content with playing spoiler against a team that escaped on the last possession in their first round encounter.

MIT Stat to Watch : The Cardinals conceded 21 turnovers to the Arellano Chiefs, allowing them to score 29 turnover points, the most Mapua has given up this season. Those errors allowed Arellano to keep things close, and so Mapua needs to be more careful with the ball. They committed a season-low 10 versus EAC and as such, the coaching staff of the Cardinals will be hoping that trend continues.
MIT Player to Watch : Yousef Taha helped dominate the Arellano interior, to the tune of 17 points and 15 rebounds, but the big man turned it over a season-high nine times in the process. The Cardinals will likely turn to him once more, but better post positioning and entry passes from the MIT guards could go a long way to curing Taha's butter fingers.

AU Stat to Watch : The Chiefs found their big men rocked by the post play of Mapua. Starting center Prince Caperal fouled out, But Andrian Celada (four fouls), Christian Palma (four fouls) and Gerald Lapuz (three fouls) all drew copious whistles from the refs as well, leading to a 26-8 MIT advantage in charities. With Lapuz likely to not play again due to having been drafted in the PBA, that's one less interior player to throw at the Cardinal bigs.
AU Player to Watch : With Andrian Celada catching fire once again, Vergel Zulueta has taken a backseat in terms of scoring, failing to go over 10 points in two out of the last three games (Just six points versus JRU and two against San Beda). Obviously, having both of them making shots is the ideal, but he can also fill the role of decoy, what with his average of 2.6 assists.

Prediction: MIT Cardinals 

NCAA S87: SBC vs CSB

History Lesson:
San Beda escaped a huge potential upset, after Baser Amer missed two charities with 8.9 seconds on the clock. On the previous possessions, CSB unleashed a 7-2 run that brought them to within a point, 79-78, and now their fate was in their hands. Streaking down from the right-side win, Carlo Lastimosa was able to get a floater up in time to beat the buzzer over Amer, but unfortunately, the shot had a bit too much mustard on it, allowing the Red Lions to breathe a huge sigh of relief. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 12-2, the Red Lions were able to leap ahead of the 12-3 Letran Knights, taking a half-game lead over them in the hunt for the second seed and the twice to beat advantage that comes with it. A win here would serve to further tighten their grip on the spot, before they gear up to end the elimination round against them and the Stags.
• The 5-9 CSB Blazers face an uphill climb to jump back into the hunt for the fourth seed in the standings, with three teams, JRU, MIT and LPU all ahead of them. They do have less games played than the other teams, but whether or not a tight schedule favors them remains to be seen.

SBC Stat to Watch : The Red Lions normally beat zones by outrunning them, getting out in transition before the opponent can set up their defense. Norming 14.71 fastbreak points, San Beda got just seven versus Benilde in their first round game, as the Blazers consistently were able to get back on defense. If their outside shots aren't falling, San Beda will have to be faster in this match.
SBC Player to Watch : Characterizing San Beda's woes in this game was Garvo Lanete, who was a miserable 5 for 22 in this game, for 12 points. While he is indeed their squad's best outside shooter and thus, their designated zone breaker, the Lions will need to look for other options should Lanete be shut down. Of course, things get a lot easier if Lanete wax hot during the game...

CSB Stat to Watch : After averaging just 12 points off turnovers in the first round, with their 20 against this opponent being a high-mark, the Blazers have improved by a lot in that regard. In their five second round games, Benilde has normed 20.8 in that category, not dipping below 15 even once. With Carlo Lastimosa gone, they'll need all the easy points they can get.
CSB Player to Watch : In their first game without Lastimosa, the Blazers got some nice production from rookie Michael Pate, who tallied 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting. They'll need him to continue with that sort of scoring, especially if San Beda targets Paolo Taha and Jonathan Grey for stopping.
 
Prediction: SBC Red Lions

NCAA S87: MIT vs EAC

History Lesson:
After four games of futility, the Cardinals finally notched their first win by beating the EAC Generals. One could possibly put an asterisk on the game though, as MIT was lucky to be facing a shorter Generals team, as Claude Cubo was serving a one-game suspension. That allowed Mapua to score inside with abandon, forming a 64-51 lead at the end of three quarters. Just to be sure there wasn't going to be any late-game shenanigans though, the Cardinals tacked on a 9-0 run to start the fourth, and held Emilio Aguinaldo to just 12 fourth quarter points, closing with a final score of 80-63. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:  

• At 6-9, the Cardinals surrendered their fourth place spot and dropped a half-game behind into fifth place, as they look up at the 7-9 JRU Heavy Bombers. Both those teams struggled in the first round but seem to have regained their groove. However, only one of those two stepladder teams from last season will get a chance to return to the post-season, making this game a must-win for Mapua to keep in step with their rivals.
• Technically winning all of their remaining games and watching the other five squads ahead of them not win any of their remaining encounters will get EAC into the Final Four, but that's hardly realistic. Thus, the Generals will have to content themselves with playing spoiler in this game.

MIT Stat to Watch : The Cardinals were held to a season-low 59 points, and had just one triple go in during their 76-59 loss to San Beda. Luckily for Mapua, the Cardinals were in a similar slump early in the first round before finding their groove against the Generals (from 37.49 percent shooting and 23.25 field goals made per game to 45 percent and 27 shots made). History may just repeat itself here.
MIT Player to Watch : After a pedestrian three games where Allan Mangahas scored just a total of 16 points, "The Snake" dropped 19 versus San Beda, including 12 in the third period, as he desperately tried to keep the Cardinals in the thick of things. If he can keep up his strong play versus EAC, he could find himself on a roll to close out the eliminations.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals attained their season-low 58 points going up against the Letran Knights, as the EAC players simply could not take care of the ball, turning it over 32 times, the second game they've tallied that many errors (JRU in round one was the first). The Cardinals norm the second fewest forced turnovers, just 15.93 a game, but Emilio Aguinaldo committed 23 in their first round encounter, most being of the unforced variety. Ball-handling has been a season long problem, and it's likely to continue to plague this team in this game.
EAC Player to Watch : Joshua Torralba returned after missing three games to a groin injury, but he was far from game shape when they played Letran, scoring just two points in 18 minutes of play, on 1 of 7 shooting with three turnovers to boot. We'll see if he's bounced back since then in this game.

Prediction: MIT Cardinals

NCAA S87: UPHSD vs CSJL

History Lesson:
Playing their third game in seven days, the host school Altas did not have the energy to keep up with the pressure defense and running game of the Letran Knights. In a game that was close in just the first quarter (17-9, Letran up), Perpetual Help struggled to score, while shedding points like crazy on the other end, giving up 21 fastbreak points and 22 turnover points. All in all, with a final score of 74-43, the Altas were cursed with the lowest scoring output in three seasons. (Recap here) 


What's at Stake:

• At 12-2, the Knights are tied with the San Beda Red Lions for the second seed, which based on tie-breakers right now, they'll have to give up to the defending champs, having lost to them in the first round. If Letran wants to keep their hold on that twice-to-beat advantage, they'll have to keep winning, starting with this game and extending to their rematch with the Bedans.
• The 3-13 Altas are firmly out of the race, but will aim to keep improving on two win total from last season.

UPHSD Stat to Watch : The Altas notched the fewest field goals made of any team this season with the 14 they tallied versus Letran. Simply put, if the Knights are going to pressure them from start to finish again, then if they manage to keep possession, they'll have to convert at a higher rate. They turned the ball over 29 times, giving the Altas a mere 54 looks at the basket. Either the former should decrease, or the latter should increase.
UPHSD Player to Watch : In the past two games of the Altas, Scottie Thompson has been their most dynamic or active player, averaging 13 points and 9.5 rebounds in that span. That's the sort of energy they'll need to play the same pace as the Knights, and his ball-handling skills will definitely come into play here.

CSJL Stat to Watch : If the turnover and transition points aren't there, the Knights have a third avenue for scoring, and that's the foul line, where they've attempted an average of 44.5 charities in their past two games. They've only made about 57.4 percent of those free throws though, a clear area for improvement for this team.
CSJL Player to Watch : If the Letran front court is a three-headed monster,  then Jonathan Belorio might be the runt of the pack, with his numbers dipping across the board in the second round. Not even a boost in playing time brought about by the suspension of Jam Cortes lifted him, as he's now gone six games without scoring in double-digits. The tiny Altas line-up may help him regain his groove though.

Prediction: CSJL Knights

NCAA S87: AU vs SBC

History Lesson:
The defending NCAA champs found no real opposition from the Chiefs, as they turned a 21-17 first quarter deficit into a 44-35 lead at the break that only kept growing, until head coach Frankie Lim inserted his reserves in the fourth quarter. The game said volumes about San Beda's ability to execute, as they won 92-67, treating the Chiefs' zone defense like it was never really there. (Recap here)

What's at Stake: 

• The Chiefs are 5-10, just a game behind the 6-9 logjam for fourth place. A win here boosts their postseason chances, while further harming San Beda's chances at getting the twice to beat advantage inherent in the top two seeds.
• San Beda went back to its winning ways, improving to 11-2 after holding off the Cardinals, to stay a half-step behind the Letran Knights. A win here ties them with that team, necessary if the Red Lions want to snag a twice to beat advantage. 

AU Stat to Watch : Arellano's zone barely slowed San Beda down because the Red Lions were too speedy for the Chiefs, preventing them from getting back and setting it up. SBC scored 29 fast break points and 21 points off turnovers, as turnovers and poor transition defense burned AU. If they allow their opponent to get up and running again, another loss might be in order.
AU Player to Watch : Andrian Celada was barely a factor in their first encounter, scoring a mere eight points as the former Mythical Five selection struggled with a 3 of 14 shooting clip. He's been much improved since then though, having scored double-digits over the past 10 points, including coming off a 29-point career best versus Lyceum. That's the sort of effort he'll need to provide against a top-notch team like San Beda.

SBC Stat to Watch : The Red Lions notched 28 assists in this game, two shy of their season-high, as all that running and stealing turned out to be conducive to lots of forward passes to streaking open players. In their two losses, San Beda was held to under 20 assists, with 15 and 12 versus San Sebastian and JRU respectively. The team simply cannot take this game lightly and rely on individual play to win. 
SBC Player to Watch : Then a reserve, point guard Anjo Caram turned in his best performance of the season versus Arellano in the first round, with 15 points on perfect 6/6 shooting from the field plus five assists and no turnovers. Since then, Caram has assumed the starting job, and has shined as the team's floor general. If the perimeter defense is as bad now as it was back then, we could see some hot shooting coming from him again.

NCAA S87: JRU vs UPHSD

History Lesson:
Perpetual Help finally notched win number one in sports movie like fashion, surviving three overtime periods and fouled out players, getting relief from the bench in the form of a comebacking Jeorge Allen to beat the Heavy Bombers 79-77. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 6-9, the JRU Heavy Bombers are in a three-team tie for fourth place with Lyceum and Mapua. More than though, they'd surely like to get revenge for their upset loss. 
• Once again the cellar-dwellers, the 3-12 host school Perpetual Help Altas will settle once again for playing spoiler, looking for a repeat performance against the team that gave them their first win of the season.

JRU Stat to Watch : After some awful three-point shooting that includes a 1 for 12 performance in this game, the Heavy Bombers managed to hit seven each in their last two back to back games. That's the sort of floor spacing they could use on a more consistent basis as they battle for a Final Four spot.
JRU Player to Watch : John Lopez turned in a decent performance, 14 points and 11 rebounds in the first game, but those seem small considering he played 46 minutes. Lopez was also responsible for a team-high nine turnovers in the game. Now that he's no longer the focal point of their offense, Lopez might produce better results under less pressure.

UPHSD Stat to Watch : It took the Altas three overtimes in the first round to notch 79 points, but they've averaged 75 in their last three games, none of which went beyond regulation. Part of the reason why is because Perpetual's been taking and making more triples, from 8 of 22 in 55 minutes, to 8.33 of 27. Considering how JRU's been piling on the offense as well, compared to how they were in the first round, they might need those triples to keep in step.
UPHSD Player to Watch : The Altas leaned on their best scorer, Jett Vidal, to carry them in overtime, where he scored 9 of his season-high 21 points. Vidal was 5 for 12 from beyond the arc in that game, but 0 for 6 from the two-point territory, something that's become almost the norm for him. In his last four games, the former PCU Dolphin made just a single two-pointer after 13 attempts, but is 14/40 from downtown.


PREDICTION: JRU Heavy Bombers

NCAA S87: MIT vs SBC

History Lesson:
The Cardinals were on the verge of an upset, thrashing a 61-47 San Beda lead early in the fourth down to just four, 70-66, thanks to clutch play by Allan Mangahas and Mark Sarangay, 1:49 left. The Red Lions made a sloppy error on their next possession, forgetting the shot clock and being forced to hand the ball back to Mapua after 24 seconds. Mapua came up empty as well, but Kenneth Ighalo was there for the repossession, and this time, Mangahas delivered, getting to within a deuce, 70-68, with 47.2 seconds left. Off a timeout, head coach Frankie Lim's designed play suddenly went out the window, when gunner Garvo Lanete slipped while using a screen to get free. Luckily for them, the screener, Dave Marcelo, pounced on the ball and laid it up, creating enough to separation to escape, 74-68. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• The 6-8 Mapua Cardinals are just a half-game ahead of the Lyceum Pirates and the JRU Heavy Bombers, as well as a win ahead of the CSB Blazers. Everyone's still gunning for that fourth seed, and the Cardinals need the wins to create separation between them and the trailers, or risk missing out on the Final Four.
• The defending champions did not expect to tally another loss after their first round defeat to San Sebastian, but lose they did to a determined and more active JRU team, putting them at 10-2. Due to some huge gaps in the scheduling, they've been idle as Letran has accumulated more wins than them, and so they'll seek to make up some lost ground in the "W" column with a victory here.

MIT Stat to Watch : The Cardinals went with three big men for much of the early part of this game, allowing them to come out on top of the rebounding battle, 54-32, 28-14 on the offensive boards. Unfortunately, they were unable to sustain the tactic, owing to foul trouble (Mike Parala wound up fouling out in 11 minutes, after chipping in 12 and 6). If they can keep their bigs longer on the floor in this match, maybe they'll get a different result from their first round loss.

MIT Player to Watch : Josan Nimes forged a new career-high with 31 points in their last game against the Stags, but the MIT coaching staff completely forgot about him after a sizzling third period that saw him put up 21, playing him just four minutes and giving him one shot, a triple which he made. Combine that with the fact that he threw the ball away on the last possession instead of taking a possible overtime-forcing attempt, and this guy might be looking for some redemption.

SBC Stat to Watch : Versus JRU, the Red Lions were held to their fewest fastbreak attempts, five, as the Bombers made a conscious effort to get back on defense and prevent run-outs. That's actually something Mapua does pretty well, conceding just seven fastbreak attempts to opponents per game, second-best in the NCAA.

SBC Player to Watch : What's the common factor in the two losses of San Beda? Zero points from Garvo Lanete in the final period. In the loss to San Sebastian, Lanete simply did not get enough attempts, missing all two of his tries in seven minutes. Versus JRU though, Lanete could not hit anything, flubbing six in as many minutes. He had nine in eight minutes versus Mapua in the first round, but could have been the goat had his turnover not been saved by Dave Marcelo.

Prediction: San Beda Red Lions

NCAA S87: CSJL vs EAC

History Lesson: 
With their backcourt being held in check by their younger EAC counterparts, Letran turned to their three-headed frontcourt beast, and the big men responded in kind. Raymond Almazan, Jam Cortes and Jonathan Belorio dominated the interior to the tune of 43 points and 38 rebounds. Still, the Generals were able to threaten late, cutting a 66-52 lead to just six points with 1:21 left, but that would be their last gasp, as the Knights scored twice to seal the win, 76-67. (Recap here)

What's at Stake:

• At 11-2, the Knights are a half game ahead of the San Beda Red Lions, a place they want to be, because of the twice-to-beat advantage that is attached to the second seed. With the defending champions also playing on this day in the second game, Letran will want to keep up their pace, especially should the Lions collapse for a second straight time. 
• The 4-10 EAC Generals are still mathematically in the hunt for the fourth playoff seed, but that would require some mindblowing collapse from everyone ahead of them, making that highly unlikely. Instead, EAC may want to start trying to figure out their crowded backcourt and see if Claude Cubo can come close to replicating his 29-point game or even something close to that, on a regular basis.

CSJL Stat to Watch : Letran leads the league in 2-point attempts (54.77) owing to their league best 23.86 offensive rebounds, and luckily for them, they'll be playing EAC, the team that currently gives up the most points (81.21 a game) and also the most 2-point attempts (51.79). San Beda has already broken the century mark against this team twice, so it's certainly not out of the question that the Knights accomplish that feat. 

CSJL Player to Watch : Can Jam Cortes repeat history and come up with another monster performance, like his 18-20 outing in the first round? If Lyceum's Mark Francisco can put up huge numbers, then this ought to be a breeze for Cortes.

EAC Stat to Watch : At the risk of paraphrasing myself, I'll simply say that EAC is the worst rebounding team defensively, giving up 48.21 boards a game, while Letran is the second best rebounding team, at 50.23 per outing. Again, this cannot end well.

EAC Player to Watch : On the opposite end of the spectrum is Claude Cubo, and his 29 points, nine rebound outing versus the tiny Lyceum. Can he repeat versus the long arms of Raymond Almazan? Unlikely, but he needs to try to bring some balance to their offense.

Prediction: Letran Knights

NCAA S87: LPU vs EAC

History Lesson:
A split at the line with a little under two minutes by Vence Laude had the Pirates threatening to pull off another come from behind win, 68-65, but on the next possession, a gambling Allan Santos chose to help double Milan Vargas, and EAC's playmaker issued a pass to a wide-open Jolas Paguia who calmly sank a huge triple, that put the lead out of reach for Lyceum, handing the Generals a 73-67 win. That allowed the Generals to match their Season 86 win total after just three games. (Recap here)

 What's at Stake: 

• Neither of these two teams are mathematically out of the playoff hunt yet, sticking within striking distance of the 6-7 Mapua Cardinals. But the 5-8 Lyceum Pirates and the 4-9 EAC Generals will need to string together a series of wins, and if they can knock down one of the other teams threatening to get number four, so much the better.

LPU Stat to Watch : After beating JRU in their first assignment of the second round, the Pirates have spiraled downward on a four-game losing streak. Scoring is down big for this squad, going from an average of 75.33 points in the first round to just 70.8 in their past five games. They're simply not converting as well as they used to, dropping from a 39.89 field goal percentage to 34.9 percent. Given that EAC is not exactly known as a defensive club, this could be Pirates' time to break through.  
LPU Player to Watch : Chris Cayabyab has only notched multiple triples in the second round once, a four-trey game versus the Perpetual Help Altas, as opponents have figured out that limiting Cayabyab has a huge impact on this team's offense. The first time they played EAC though, Cayabyab was a horrible 0 for 10 from beyond the arc, so if the Generals can defend him the same way, this could be a long day for the sniper.

EAC Stat to Watch : The Generals have the worst assist to turnover ration in the league, a roughly 4 to 7 clip that has them giving up the most fastbreak attempts in the league (10.08) and the third-most turnover points (16.15). Luckily for them though, the Pirates are almost as bad as they are, surrendering 8.64 fastbreak attempts and are the worst in the league when it comes to allowing opponents to score turnover points, with 19.71 points being given up. If this becomes an up and down sort of game, the Pirates may come out on the losing end.
EAC Player to Watch : With so many players going in and out of EAC's sickbay, Jan Jamon has been the one constant, and as a result, is now tied with Joshua Torralba as the team's best scorer with a 12.8 average. Because we still don't know if Torralba will play or not, Jamon has to be ready to pick up the scoring slack, and build upon an 11-12 performance versus Perpetual Help.


Prediction: EAC Generals

NCAA S87: CSB vs JRU

History Lesson:
The Blazers leaned on the late-game heroics of Carlo Lastimosa to win a hard-fought game, as last season's rookie of the year drove hard down the lane and scored over John Villarias to put his squad up 78-77. With just five seconds left on the clock and the length of the court to traverse, JRU did not have enough time to counter, falling after leading throughout the game's three quarters.  Free throws were the key to this game, as Benilde tallied 52 attempts compared to just a measly 11 for JRU. (Recap here)


What's at Stake:

• With the Blazers at 5-8 and the Heavy Bombers at 5-9, both these teams have a clear shot at overtaking the Mapua Cardinals, who absorbed a loss to San Sebastian, and now find themselves at 6-7. A win here puts either team that much closer to the fourth seed, while a loss puts the defeated in a position where they will have to sweep their remaining games in the vague hopes of forcing a playoff for the final playoff berth.

CSB Stat to Watch : The Blazers were the second best team at getting to the line in round one, attempting 30.22 free throws a game (Letran led the league with 32.11 tries). They've dropped to just 27.5 looks at the line in round two and have dropped to fourth, behind the Knights, Pirates and Stags. With Carlo Lastimosa leaving the team, they lose a large chunk of their perimeter scoring, so it's possible that you'll see Jonathan Grey and Paolo Taha compensate by attacking the rim.
CSB Player to Watch : With Mark Romero and Carlo Lastimosa both gone, CSB loses the two players that played the most minutes for them. That means someone like Jonathan Grey serves to gain from the sudden abundance of playing time. Grey currently averages 12 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 21.5 minutes, but giving him 30 minutes sees his production shoot up to 16.74 points, 6.56 rebounds, 3.35 assists and 1.53 steals if he remains consistent.

JRU Stat to Watch : Versus the Red Lions, the Heavy Bombers were able to fully realize their inside-out attack, making a season-high seven triples on 36.84 percent shooting, their second-best mark from downtown. If they can pull off a similar feat, it wouldn't be a surprise to see them win three in a row.
JRU Player to Watch : John Lopez was not bothered by the many big men of San Beda, scoring 17 points in the game, the first time he's hit double-digit scoring in their last five games. That came about because he also spent more time on the floor, notching just a single foul, the first time that happened all season. The first time they played Benilde, Lopez fouled out after just 15 minutes of play. That can't happen if they want to split the season series.

Prediction: JRU Heavy Bombers