League-leader De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde takes on San Beda University in a big matchup while Lyceum of the Philippines University will look to keep pace when they take on San Sebastian College-Recoletos in NCAA Season 98 action on Sunday.
The Blazers, who lead all the teams with a 6-1 card, will square off with the 5-2 Red Lions at 3 p.m. while the Pirates (5-2) will shoot for a bounce back win against the skidding Stags (2-4) at 12 p.m. as the teams near the end of the first round.
San Beda and LPU are in a three-way tie along with Jose Rizal University for second place in the standings, right behind Benilde.
Benilde is coming off a 73-64 win over last season's runner-up Mapua University to extend their win streak to three games and the Taft crew is hoping to make it fourth in a row when they go up against San Beda.
The Red Lions, for their part, are fresh from a bounce back win last Friday, when they cruised to a lopsided 96-61 thrashing of the Arellano University Chiefs with James Kwekuteye leading the way.
"'Yung San Beda malakas na team 'yan eh. Coach Yuri (Escueta) is a good friend, he's been my brother's teammate for years. He was even my teammate also," said Benilde head coach Charles Tiu.
"I'm excited for that match-up, I don't know the last time that CSB has beaten San Beda so it would be great if we could pull off that upset."
Meanwhile, LPU is looking to vent its ire on a struggling San Sebastian side following a heartbreaking loss to Jose Rizal University last Friday.
Prior to that loss, the Pirates were riding a five-game win streak that put them atop the team standings.
The Stags, meanwhile, are out to end a string of losses that saw them fold to San Beda, Perpetual, and Letran after a 2-1 start.
—JMB, GMA News
