NCAA tailenders hope for good first round finish

NCAA tailenders hope for good first round finish

by rick olivares

Some losing streaks have to end.

Four teams that have been floundering in NCAA Season 86 will do battle to close their first round assignments on a winning note when they see action today at the San Juan Arena.

The Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals face the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights at 2pm while the College of Saint Benilde Blazers cross paths with the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Altas in the main game at 4pm.

The Generals have been playing better as of late as they rounded out two wins in the their last four matches. They nearly beat Jose Rizal University in their last outing but their execution failed them in the final minutes as the Heavy Bombers took the match 74-70. Letran on the other hand suffered a stinging loss when point guard Frank Dysam suffered a brain freeze in the final moments of their match against Arellano University last Friday when he thought his side was up. Dysam dribbled out the clock only to discover to his horror that it was the Chiefs who had the edge 78-76. The Knights fell to a precarious 2-5 tied with EAC for fifth place in the standings.

Letran head coach Louie Alas however remained optimistic even as JRU and Mapua each have a three-game lead on his squad at 5-2 for a Final Four berth while Arellano is a game ahead at 3-5. “If we can beat EAC then we tie Arellano. We regroup then come back strong in the second round.” sounded out Alas who has won three NCAA Seniors crowns with the Intramuros-based team.

EAC however has the same idea. “We’re playing better and a win will boost our confidence heading into second round.” said the Generals’ Nomar Isla who was nearly replaced early last week by disgruntled school officials.

In the second game, the Altas hope to salvage their pride when they try to eke out a win to barge into the win column as they are mired in the cellar at 0-7. They’ll take on the skidding CSB Blazers who have, unfortunately for head coach Richard del Rosario, waxed hot and cold for much of the first round.

The Blazers have mostly put up strong efforts even pushing defending champions San Sebastian to the brink of a first loss. But in their next match, they lost big to Letran (16 points) and even bigger to San Beda (26 points). In between they nearly upended Mapua but the Cardinals squeezed out a 65-63 win. “Consistency,” said del Rosario with the shake of his head. “That is what we really need.”

The Altas on the other hand have slowly lost their grip on the season as they have been unable to weather the loss of two key players right before the start of the season because of eligibility concerns.

“The pressure is off,” noted a noticeably unhappy Boris Aldeguer who is in his second year with the Las Piñas school. “We’ll be fighting until our final game. Now it’s just for pride and a decent finish.”