Streakin' Red Lions face surging Cards

MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten San Beda seeks to regain the solo lead as it takes on a resurgent Mapua side today even as Letran and Lyceum dispute the No. 3 spot in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Lions swept their first six games in emphatic fashions but are expected to face a tougher bunch of Cardinals, who sprang back to life with two straight wins after dropping their first four matches.

San Sebastian matched San Beda’s early romp with a 77-70 victory over Emilio Aguinaldo last Wednesday but the Lions are favored to wrest solo control again.

Gametime is at 4 p.m. with the defending champions out to keep their unbeaten slate that goes back to last year’s 18-game sweep of the crown.

“Mapua is far stronger than its current ranking right now and they’re starting to show it,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim of the Cardinals.

But to stop San Beda, Mapua will not only have to clamp down on the sweet-shooting Garvo Lanete, who averages 18 points, but also must contain big men Jake Pascual, Dave Marcelo and Kyle Pascual, who have dominated the shaded lane with a combined 25-rebound, five-block outing in the first six games.

“Garvo has been playing great for us especially in our last few games,” said Lim. “I also had to give it to my big men, who have been showing that they could get the job done in the absence of Su (Daniel).”

The Cardinals would need more than Taha’s strong effort to pull one against the heavily favored Lions.

“We would need to play a near-perfect, if not perfect, game against San Beda to beat them,” said Mapua mentor Chito Victolero, who will rely mainly on Fil-Palestinian rookie Yousef Taha.

Focus will also be on the Letran-Lyceum duel at 2 p.m. with both teams hoping to stay within striking distance of the joint leaders.

The Knights tote a 4-2 card while the Pirates are half-a-game behind at 4-3.

“We want to be as close to the leaders as we can and keep our place in the top four,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, who has steered the Muralla-based school to titles in 1998, 2003 and 2005.

“It would be one of our toughest tests facing Letran,” said Lyceum mentor Boni Tan.