THE Mapua Cardinals, victorious in their previous game, shoot for back-to-back wins when they collide with on-a-roll defending champions San Beda Red Lions in the seniors opener today in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Defeated the Arellano Chiefs, 91-83, in their last game on July 31 that handed them their second win in Season 94, the Cardinals (2-2) are targeting a victory over the Lions (3-0) in their scheduled 12 noon match to go above the .500 mark for the first time.
The Cardinals had it crisp to start the match against the Chiefs but encountered some rough patch in the second half.
But they would eventually settle down in the closing to book the victory and get back on the winning track.
Five players scored in double digits for the Cardinals in the win, led by the 16 points of Christian Bunag with Eric Jabel adding 15 and Cedric Pelayo 14.
Noah Lugo and Warren Bonifacio each had 12 points.
“We are still a work in progress. There are still some things that we need to work on to put up a consistent fight in the tournament,” said Mapua’s Laurenz Victoria, who had nine points and nine assists against Arellano.
San Beda, for its part, raced to its third straight win also on Tuesday with a 61-46 mastery of the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals.
Down a point, 14-13, at the end of the first quarter, the Lions tightened the defensive screws and shackled the Generals, particularly in the third period where the latter were limited to just eight points, and never looked back from there to seal the win and stay unbeaten along with league-leading Lyceum Pirates (5-0).
“Our defense made the difference today,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez after the win.
Guard Robert Bolick paced his team with 15 points and six assists.
Playing in the second game at 2 p.m. are the San Sebastian Stags (2-3) against EAC (0-4) and at 4 p.m. it is Lyceum versus the Perpetual Help Altas (2-1). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
