Braves, Cubs fancied to keep share of lead

MANILA, Philippines – Arellano U and San Beda try to keep their stranglehold of the lead as the two tackle Letran and Perpetual Help, respectively, today in the 92nd NCAA juniors basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

The Braves turned back the Jose Rizal Light Bombers while the Cubs downed the Lyceum of the Phl U Junior Pirates, 80-66, to remain atop the heap with identical 11-1 (win-loss) records.

Another win in their 9 and 10:45 a.m. duels will push the Braves a win closer to  at least a playoff for a berth in the Final Four.

Both Arellano and San Beda are also looking to stay in the top two for the all-important twice-to-beat advantage in the next round.

“Our goal is to make the Final Four first, if we can achieve it, we’ll start to think of the twice-to-beat edge,” said San Beda coach JB Sison.

Just a game behind with a 10-2 mark was Mapua, which tangles with LPU (6-5) at 12:30 p.m. with hopes of catching up with the leaders.

St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills is currently at No. 4 with a 9-3 card and should further solidify its grip of it if the Junior Blazers could handle the San Sebastian Staglets, which have a win to spare in 12 outings, when they collide at 2:15 p.m.