Bombers, Altas collide for solo third

MANILA, Philippines - Jose Rizal University and Arellano square off today for solo third place even as Letran and Perpetual Help clash in a duel of winless teams in the 86th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Powered by Cameroonian behemoth Joe Etame and talented rookie Mark Lopez, the Bombers overcame the feisty Knights, 67-62, last Monday for an even 1-1 slate.

The Chiefs, on the other hand, dropped a sorry 64-70 loss to the St. Benilde Blazers, also last Monday to join the Bombers and the Mapua Cardinals in fourth.

Gametime is at 4 p.m. with rookie coach Vergel Meneses hopeful of steering the Bombers to their second straight win.

“I hope we could sustain the momentum of our first victory and translate it to another win for us,” said the former PBA MVP and PABL slam dunk champion who took over from Ariel Vanguardia late last year.

The Chiefs, however, vowed to bounce back and get past one of the early title favorites.

“We have to show the heart as well as a lot of patience if we want to match, if not improve, our strong showing last year,” said Arellano coach Leo Isaac, who took over from Junjie Ablan after skipping last season due to his coaching commitment with Barako Bull in the pros.

Letran and Perpetual Help, meanwhile, slug it out at 2 p.m., both looking to get into the win column after dropping their first two games.

The Knights lost to the San Sebastian Stags and the Bombers while the Altas bowed to the Cardinals and the Stags.

San Sebastian and San Beda, tipped to contend again for this year’s crown, show the way with 3-0 cards.

“We hope to arrest this skid but it would depend on how the players would respond to the challenge,” said Letran mentor Louie Alas.

“I guess there’s no way for us than up, we just have to keep playing hard and continue to trust each other,” Perpetual Help Boris Aldeguer said.