Tams, Pirates, Bombers stake Filoil clean slates

MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern U and Lyceum engage in a clash of unbeaten teams in Group B while Jose Rizal U seeks to keep its clean slate in Group A today in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the San Juan Arena.

The Tams gun for their fourth consecutive win and the group’s solo lead against the Pirates, who aim to slay a giant and go 3-0 in their 12:30 encounter.

Mike Tolomia and Mac Belo spearhead the bid of an FEU side that is eager to prove it can be contenders even with the exit of former MVPs RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo.

Dexter Zamora and Rhoel Maconocido provide the firepower for the Pirates, who have hurdled their first two assignments to stay within striking distance of the leaders.

The JRU Heavy Bombers, for their part, target win No. 3 and a share of Group A lead with idle Perpetual Help when they battle Southwestern U Cobras at 2:15.

The Cobras look to uphold Cebuano pride against the powerhouses from the Big City.

Last year, SWU cagers logged a 3-5 record in the summer tourney, capping their stint with a three-game streak, spiked by a reversal against eventual UAAP runner-up Santo Tomas.

Theirs was the best effort from Cebuano teams so far, as fellow Cesafi teams University of the Visayas and University of San Carlos have previously posted a cumulative 1-5 slate in their one-week Manila stint.

In other matches, the women’s squads of Rizal Technological University and De La Salle University battle at 10:45 a.m. while the juniors teams of Letran and De La Salle Zobel close out the day’s hostilities at 5:45 p.m.

Tickets to the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup are available at all SM TicketNet outlets as well as the game venue.

The pre-season collegiate basketball tournament is sponsored by Filoil, Flying V, Total, Hanes, Timex, Starmobile, San Miguel Corporation, Meralco, BDO, Silverworks, Gatorade, Gerry’s Grill, Reyes Barbecue, LGR, Brothers Burger, BPI, PBCom, Molten, CDO, Bayo, Douwe Egberts, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Oxycan, Red Logo, and Bacchus.