Letran, JRU face off for No. 2 seeding

Letran and Jose Rizal University slug it out for the No. 2 seeding while San Sebastian College and Mapua knock each other out for the fourth and last Final Four berth in the NCAA seniors basketball tournament at the Astrodome today.

The Knights outclassed the Cardinals, 62-52, while the Bombers held off the Stags, 57-53, last Monday to join the defending champion San Beda Red Lions in the Final Four.

Since Letran and Jose Rizal U will also meet in the semis after claiming the Nos. 2 and 3 spots, their 4 p.m. encounter serves as the start of a virtual best-of-three for the other final berth.

The Stags and the Cardinals, on the other hand, dispute the last semis slot in the first match at 2 p.m.

The Stags are eyeing to make it to the Final Four after a two-year absence, while the Cardinals are looking for their fourth straight semis appearance.

Expect San Sebastian to pin its hopes on leading MVP contender Jason Ballesteros, Jim Viray, Pamboy Raymundo and Froilan Saquillo while pro-bound Kelvin dela Peña must assert his leadership and Neil Pascual, Allan Mangahas and Ian Mazo must get their game going for Mapua to advance.

The winner of the Stags-Cardinals duel will face the Red Lions in the Final Four.

The Knights and the Heavy Bombers, who also faced off in last season’s Final Four, will go all-out to get the win and move closer to the finals.

Leading the Knights’ charge are Dino Daa, Rey Guevarra, RJ Jazul and Kojack Melegrito, while JR Sena, Marc Cagoco, John Wilson and Maui Pradas will spearhead the Bombers’ side.

In the juniors stepladder semis at 11:30 a.m., the second seeded Squires and the No. 3 Light Bombers collide for the right to face the three-time champion Staglets in the best-of-three championship.