SAN Beda University eyes to extend its winning streak to four when it faces Arellano University in the crossover round of the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
San Beda (5-2) looks to overpower the struggling Arellano side (4-3), which is in its three-game skid at 5 p.m., after Lyceum of the Philippines University (1-5) and University of Perpetual Help System Dalta’s (2-4) match at 3 p.m.
The defending champions San Beda Red Lions powered back-to-back-to-back wins after defeating San Sebastian College-Recoletos, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and Perpetual.
In the Red Lions' recent win over Perpetual on Thursday, Jomel Puno put up his best game so far with 15 points, as he was backed up by Kyle Jamora’s 14-point outing.
The Yuri Escueta-mentored squad is slated at third in the Group A standings, behind College of Saint Benilde (6-1) and Jose Rizal University (5-1).
“This is what I want to see more of from the team. Addressing all the lapses and improving each game. It is not easy to win in NCAA; all the teams are really difficult to defeat. Getting a win is really tough, so the work continues,” Escueta told the media.
On the other side of the ring, the Arellano Chiefs, who finished the first round with a flawless 4-0 record, were now struggling in the second phase after absorbing their third consecutive loss.
Arellano took an 82-94 loss over Benilde on Friday, despite the efforts of Basti Valencia, T-mc Ongotan, King Vinoya, and Leyton Buenaventura, who scored 17, 14, 12, and 10 points, respectively.
The Chiefs were currently slated second at the Group B standings, behind league leader Letran (4-2), and if they do not want to further dip into the standings, they should end their string of losses.
Ahead of their clash, Lyceum and Perpetual, both coming off a loss, eye a breakout from the dry spell.
Lyceum only tallied a win over Mapua in Group A, while Perpetual only copped two wins against Emilio Aguinaldo College and San Sebastian.
