The Dolphins battle the Jose Rizal U Bombers at 2 p.m., eyeing their ninth victory in 11 games as they try to keep their hopes alive for one of the two twice-to-beat incentives in the Final Four.
Streaking San Beda and defending champion Letran share the lead with 9-1 slates and are fancied to book the top two slots in the next round although the Dolphins remain hopeful of their chances to steal one of the two coveted berths.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, try to firm up their hold of fourth place as they collide with the St. Benilde Blazers in their 4 p.m. encounter.
With a 5-5 card, Mapua is two games ahead over San Sebastian and Perpetual Help, which both totes 3-7 slates in their battle for the last spot in the Final Four heading into the crucial phase of the elims.
However, Jose Rizal and St. Benilde, virtually out of the semis race with 2-8 and 1-9 cards, respectively, are expected to come out strong and play the spoilers’ role against their fancied opponents.
The Bombers must sweep their last four games and hope not one among the Cardinals, the Stags and the Altas surpass the six-win mark to gain a tie for the last semis slot.
But the Dolphins are out to keep their four-game streak going.
"We don’t want to stop now," said PCU coach Joel Dualan in Filipino. "But for us to do that, we need to keep on respecting our opponents and play harder."
But while PCU is hot, the same could not be said of Mapua.
Lacking the go-to guy despite boasting of an almost intact line-up, the Cardinals dropped three of their last four games, including a 53-58 setback to the Altas
Friday, that made the race for the last Final Four berth a little more interesting.