Red Lions, Cardinals dispute final berth

San Beda and Mapua clash for the fourth and final berth in the NCAA Final Four although the winner of the lone playoff game today will find itself ranged against the very team which emerged the best from the grueling two-round eliminations.

The Lions and the Cardinals finished tied with the San Sebastian Stags for the fourth spot with 7-7 (win-loss) slates but the latter was bumped off the semis race with an inferior tiebreak score against the two.

Gametime is set at 4 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum with the Lions seeking a first-ever stint in the Final Four since the format was introduced in 1997 and the Cardinals eyeing a third straight appearance in the semis under coach Horacio Lim.

The winner advances to the next round and faces elimination round topnotcher Perpetual Help next needing two victories to barge into the best-of-three finals.

One thing going against Mapua is that it will have to do the job without Erwin Sta. Maria, part of the team’s formidable troika who was suspended for unsportsmanlike conduct against Perpetual Help’s Vladimir Joe last week.

"We’re used to being the underdogs. We’ve been seeded No. 7 even before the season started so we’ve nothing to lose and everything to gain," said Lim.

"We’ll just have to make do with what we have and play harder in the absence of Erwin," he added.

Sta. Maria is a vital cog in Lim’s frontline rotation which includes Christian Guevarra and Jofferson Gonzales. He averages 16 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 steals in the elims.

Letran set the stage for the Mapua-San Beda tussle after it eliminated San Sebastian with a 81-78 win Friday. It was the first time the Stags failed to advance to the Final Four since the format was used.

Spicing up the day at 2 p.m. is the first Nestle Non-Stop Cheerdance Competition, which will be participated in by all eight-member schools.

Jose Rizal will get the honor of performing first to be followed by San Beda, Mapua, St. Benilde, San Sebastian, Letran, Philippine Christian U and host Perpetual Help in that order.

At stake is a top purse of P30,000 while the second and third placers will get P20,000 and P10,000, respectively, courtesy of Nestle Nonstop Ice Cream.