Battle of NCAA titans: Stags, Lions part ways for solo lead

There’s no better way to end the first round of the eliminations than to have two unbeaten teams slugging it out for the solo lead in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. League titans San Sebastian and San Beda, two protagonists of last season’s finale, part ways in their 4 p.m encounter Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan. Both the Stags and the Red Lions have identical 7-0, but only one of them should go on to remain unbeaten at the end of the first round. The Recto-based dribblers ended the three-year title reign of their neighbor school from Mendiola via a two-game sweep last season behind the exploits of Finals Most Valuable Player Jimbo Aquino and Calvin Abueva, who outplayed Sudan Daniel in that series. Despite the departure of the PBA-bound Aquino, the Stags continue their onslaught this season. Their only stumbling block are the Lions, whose beefed up frontline has certainly inflicted damage against their counterparts. Daniel now gets plenty of help from Anthony and Dave Semerad, Kyle Pascual and veteran Dave Marcelo. "They have the size advantage," said Agustin. "It will be interesting to see how Calvin will match up against them and how we will be able to stop them on both ends." Point guard Pamboy Raymundo and Ronald Pascual were able to fill the void left by Aquino, who is entering the PBA Rookie Draft set next week. But their consistency will be put to a test against San Beda's greyhounds. Although San Beda clearly has the size advantage and the eagerness to bounce back, coach Frankie Lim hopes to see a breakout game from his wards. "We should play with a lot of heart and determination to beat them. I told my boys that it won't be easy beating them," said Lim. Lim will also lean on rookie Jaypee Mendoza, veteran point guard Borgie Hermida and shooting guard Garvo Lanete. In a rare arrangement, the league will sell separate tickets for the four scheduled games. The juniors game between reigning titlist San Beda and San Sebastian will be played at 2 p.m. Morning games will pit MIT-Malayan and Jose Rizal University at 8:30 a.m. followed by their senior counterparts at 10:30 a.m. - RCJ, GMANews.TV