San Beda, Mapua gun for solo lead

Surprise co-leaders San Beda and Mapua try to keep their lofty perch as they take on Philippine Christian U and Jose Rizal, respectively, today in the 80th NCAA basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Nash Racela-mentored Red Lions shocked the heavily- favored San Sebastian Stags, 76-68, on opening day and then massacred the Jose Rizal Bombers, 69-51, last Wednesday to move atop the heap.

The Cardinals are also sizzling hot with a pair of victories, the last at the expense of defending champion Letran Knights, 86-76, in an upset win that made a lot of heads turn and gained them a share of the top spot.

And San Beda and Mapua are not going to stop there.

Brandishing the motion offense that had Racela winning the 2001 title for the Batangas Blades in the defunct MBA, the Lions clash with the taller and heftier Dolphins at 1 p.m. while the Cardinals hope to flex their defensive muscle anew against the Bombers at 4 p.m.

Both Jose Rizal and PCU are tied with idle Letran and host Perpetual Help at third place on 1-1 (win-loss) slates.

And although San Beda is up there in the standing, Racela said it’s too early to celebrate.

"It’s too early to make bold predictions about our chances because 2-0 is nothing at this early stage of the tournament," stressed Racela, San Miguel guard Olsen’s younger brother who is also Chot Reyes’ assistant at Coca-Cola.

"We need to work extra harder as the tournament progresses and we need to do that against PCU, which is a really tall team," he added.

Next to the Stags, the Dolphins, now coached by Loreto Tolentino, boast of a huge front with Ian Vincent Garrido, Robert Sanz, Carlos Cecilia, Yenz Salangsang and rookie prize find Gabriel Espinas manning the paint.

Mapua, for its part, is expected to rely again on the exciting troika of Christian Guevarra, who saw action for Welcoat Paints in the PBL, Jofferson Gonzales and Erwin Sta. Maria, who are all instrumental in the team’s early triumphs.

But more the three’s athleticism, experience and talent, Mapua mentor Horacio Lim credit their early success to defense.

"Just what I keep telling my players, defense will always win us ballgames," said the four-year coach of the Cardinals.