Lions eye to seal No. 1 semis spot

MANILA, Philippines – San Beda seeks to lay claim to the top seeding for the eighth straight year as it clashes with an already-ran Arellano U Saturday in the 89th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Lions turned back the Letran Knights, 76-72, in overtime last Monday to seize the solo lead with a 14-3 (win-loss) slate and another victory over the Chiefs in their 6 p.m. encounter would seal it the No. 1 spot in the Final Four for the eighth straight seasons.

A loss, in contrast, would forge a two-way tie with the Muralla-based dribblers at the helm on 14-4 (win-loss) records and a playoff for the No. 1 seeding on Oct. 29 at the same venue.

“The school has a tradition to continue and there’s a lot of pride at stake so we’re definitely going for a win,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez.

San Beda has won the championship six of the seven straight seasons it finished on top after the double-round elimination. The only time the Lions wound up No. 1 but didn’t win a title was in 2009 when the San Sebastian Stags snatched the crown.

Interestingly, the two times San Beda needed a playoff to clinch the top seed were in 2011 and 2009 after beating San Sebastian on both occasions.

But more than anything else, Fernandez said they don’t want to go into the complications on playing in a playoff game and risking his players to potential injuries.

“The best option for us, of course, is to win our last game for us to get to re-charge while having more time to prepare physically and mentally for the Final Four,” said Fernandez.

The top seed will take on the loser of the playoff for third between Perpetual Help and San Sebastian, which finished with identical 11-7 slates, on Tuesday at the same venue while the No. 2 the winner of that duel needing just a win to advance to the best-of-three finals.

But don’t expect Arellano U to lay the red carpet for San Beda as the former, riding the crest of a 63-54 win over Jose Rizal Thursday for its eighth win against nine defeats, is eyeing to finish at least in a tie for fifth spot with Emilio Aguinaldo (9-8).

The Generals battle the Mapua Cardinals (2-15) and finish at solo No. 5 in a non-bearing duel set at 4 p.m.