Knights seek top seeding vs Red Lions

MANILA, Philippines - Letran tries to make it two in a row against archrival San Beda today, eyeing no less than the top seeding in the Final Four at the close of its elims round campaign in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

Spearheaded by leading MVP candidate Raymond Almazan, the Knights tamed the Lions, 74-67, last Aug. 27 and are raring to go for a repeat to formalize their claim on the No. 1 spot and a date with the No. 4 team in the semis.

But the Lions vow to even things up with the Knights, guaranteeing a slam-bang action in the 6 p.m. main game in the final week of the league’s double-round elims.

A win will net the Knights (14-3) the coveted top seeding in the next round while a San Beda (13-3) victory will give the Lions the inside track for the top seeding although they would still need to get past the Arellano Chiefs (7-9) to seal their claim.

And both coaches Caloy Garcia of Letran and Boyet Fernandez of San Beda agree it’s going to be another nail-biter.

The 6-7 Almazan torched the Lions with 22 points, including a pair of triples, and had 11 rebounds and three blocks while the 6-8 Ola Adeogun of San Beda bullied his way to 27 points and 15 boards in a game that ended in a Letran win.

“We need to find a way to slow him down (Adeogun),” said Garcia.