Knights, Altas seek 3-4 posts vs lowly rivals

MANILA, Philippines — Letran tries to firm up its hold of the No. 3 spot while Perpetual Help, the only team to beat frontrunning Lyceum, sets out to boost its drive for No. 4 as  they take on lowly rivals in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament today at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

The Knights take on the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals at 2 p.m. with the former confident of hiking its record to 9-4 against a team which could only churn out two victories in 12 games.

The Altas are also tipped to get past the Jose Rizal U Bombers (2-11) in their 4 p.m. encounter following their 83-81 shocker over the Pirates for a 7-5 slate that put them within reach of the fourth- running St. Benilde Blazers (8-5).

“Our win over LPU would be meaningless if we can’t win our next two games,” said Perpetual Help coach Frankie Lim, whose charges face the Mapua Cardinals on Friday.

The Altas will again pin their hopes on Prince Eze, who hit the game-winner against the Pirates, and Edgar Charcos who also delivered in the clutch.

The 6-9 Nigerian finished with 25 points, 23 rebounds and two blocks, to likewise clinch the NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week honors.

The loss was Lyceum’s first after sweeping its first 12 games, giving  San Beda a share of the lead heading to the homestretch of the double round elims. The Pirates and the Red Lions have virtually secured the first two semis berths with the last two up for grabs among the Knights, Blazers and Altas.

It was also the second straight win for Perpetual, which is getting huge numbers from Charcos, who missed three games last month due to knee injury.