THE defending champions San Beda Red Lions trek back to the court today with an eye on keeping in step with the early leaders in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.
Currently sporting a 1-0 record, the Mendiola-based Lions battle the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers (0-1) in the final game of seniors play at 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Preceding the contest is the match between season hosts Perpetual Help Altas (1-1) and Arellano Chiefs (1-0) at 12 noon and the Letran Knights (0-1) against the Mapua Cardinals (1-0) at 2 p.m.
San Beda is coming off a victory over Perpetual Help on opening day on July 7, narrowly winning, 67-65, in a game that saw it shoot poorly, going 21-of-58 from the field and 22-of-32 from the foul line.
It is something the Lions hope to correct in their game against the Bombers.
“We just devoted the last week more on shooting and execution,” said San Beda coach Fernandez in the aftermath of their shooting struggles in their season debut.
Looking to stop the Lions while trying to bounce back from their first loss of the season are the Bombers.
Took on Mapua on July 12 in their home turf for the first “NCAA on Tour” of the season, the Bombers just could not get their game going the way they wanted to at the JRU Gym in Mandaluyong City before slumping to the 72-60 defeat.
RJ David paced JRU with 12 points while veteran Jed Mendoza added 11 in their loss to Mapua. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
