Tamaraws picked vs Blazers in pre-season caging

Defending champion Far Eastern University shoots for its second straight victory when it takes on College of Saint Benilde in the 2010 Filoil Flying V Preseason Invitational Cup at The Arena in San Juan. The Tamaraws are coming off a rousing 72-54 victory over the RP U-18 team and are eager to make a repeat against the unheralded Blazers, who lost to Jose Rizal University, 71-69, in their tournament debut. Game time is 1 p.m. Leading the way for the squad of coach Glenn Capacio are last year's tournament Most Valuable Player RR Garcia, Reil Cervantes, Paul Sanga and rookie Terrence Romeo. Still licking the wound of their painful setback, the national youth cagers vent their ire against the Adamson Falcons in their 3 p.m. encounter. But the Falcons are a dangerous customer as coach Leo Austria and his wards will be gunning for their third win in four outings. The Falcons, led by rising star Alex Nuyles and Jan Colina, are coming off an 85-73 win over University of the East while the Nationals try to atone from their previous loss against the Warriors two days ago.

The RP U-18, led by Ateneo High School's Kiefer Ravena, is toting an even 2-2 slate. University of the Philippines tries to get back from a humbling 20-point loss to Ateneo last Saturday when it goes up against Letran in the 5 p.m. encounter. In their 87-67 setback to the Eagles, the Maroons were beaten badly and even fell down by as much as 40 points after three quarters. They absorbed their second setback in four games. The Diliman-based cagers will be led by highly-touted Fil-Am Mike Silungan, who once torched Emilio Aguinaldo College for 35 points. Letran, led by Kevin Alas, is coming off a 90-114 loss to Ateneo two days ago. The Knights hold a 1-2 record. - RCJ, GMANews.TV