BY ABBY TORALBA
TOP seed Mapua University is not one to look past No. 4 College of St. Benilde.
“Kami talagang every game kailangan paghandaan namin. Sabi ko nga sa mga players huwag kaming tumingin na No.1 kami kasi ‘di ba pupunta iyon sa utak namin tapos madadamay na iyong performance,” Cardinals coach Randy Alcantara said. “So, iyon lang, every game lang trabaho lang nang trabaho.
“Kung ano man iyong nagawa namin, nag-No.1 kami, first time ng Mapua, salamat, pero siyempre credit doon sa mga boys talagang trinabaho nila itong season na ito,” he added.
Mapua seeks to make short work of CSB when they tangle today as the Final Four of the 99th NCAA basketball tournament gets going at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The match is set at 1:30 p.m., with the twice-to-beat Cards determined to finish off the Blazers and reach the Big Dance for the second time in the last three seasons.
Ditto with No. 2 Lyceum, also-armed with a win-once incentive, when it faces third-ranked San Beda University at 3:30.
A winner-take-all tiff, or tiffs, if necessary, will be played on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Rookie-MVP frontrunner Clint Escamis, along with veterans Warren Bonifacio and Paolo Hernandez, will be counted upon by Mapua to deliver.
The Cards nipped the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers 77-74 last Wednesday and wound up with a 15-3 mark after the eliminations.
Reigning MVP Will Gozum, Miggy Corteza and Migs Oczon are expected to lead the way for CSB, which absorbed a 69-77 loss to Emilio Aguinaldo College six days ago to end its elims campaign with an 11-7 card.
“Again, we still have to get better, playing Lyceum. I have to give it to the guys to lock it in.
When we started 4-1 in the second round, I talked to the guys how they wanted it to end, how they wanted to continue the season, ‘di ba?” Lions strategist Yuri Escueta said.
“It’s either fold or go the other way and lock in, focus in, give our best so they chose the other way, it’s a challenge and they talk amongst themselves.”
San Beda downed Letran 77-68 last Friday that enabled the Lions to finish the eliminations with a 12-6 record.
Jacob Cortez, Yukien Andrada and Jomel Puno will be relied upon by San Beda.
The Pirates, who compiled a 13-5 mark after the elims, will rely on Shawn Umali, JM Bravo and John Barba.
Lyceum last advanced to the finals in 2018 behind now PBA star CJ Perez.
