Leaders Lions, Chiefs rarin’ to stay afloat

MANILA, Philippines - Joint leaders San Beda and Arellano U try to stay at helm as they seek victories over Mapua and San Sebastian, respectively, at the start of the second round eliminations of the 90th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City today.

Big man Ola Adeogun is expected to suit up for the Red Lions after he was sacked in the team’s 53-64 loss to Letran last week for missing the team’s practice while ace playmaker Baser Amer hopes to be in top shape after sustaining a minor neck injury against the Knights.

“I’m okay, it’s not that serious. I’m ready for our next game,” said Amer, who had to give up his spot in the league’s first ever All-Star Game last Saturday to rest his sore neck.

That makes San Beda, which topped the first round elims with Arellano at 7-2, the solid pick against a Mapua side that dropped all but one of its nine matches in the first half of the double round elims.

Gametime is at 2 p.m. with the Red Lions expected to duplicate their 89-75 romp in their initial face-off.

Like San Beda, Arellano is tipped to get past SSC the way it did in the first round, 96-86, with the Chiefs raring to re-display their superb offensive game after pacing the league with 82.6 points, They also led the field in steals with nine.

“We just have to keep on doing what we did right in the first round and we’ll be okay,” said Arellano U coach Jerry Codinera, out to steer the Chiefs to the Final Four for the first time in five years.

Arellano and SSC, in second-to-last with a 3-6 card, collide at 4 p.m.

While Arellano is tops in offense, San Beda is No. 1 in defense with the Lions holding their opponents to a league-best 65.1 points in the first round.

“From the start, we know defense is our only way to winning another championship and we’re sticking to that,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez.