Defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran is making its move in NCAA Season 98 as it has rattled off a six-game winning streak to join the early league-leaders up top. The race for the Final Four is heating up with the second round well under way. Check in to see how the teams fared in Week 6.
1 Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights | Record: 9-3 (Week 6 record: 3-0) | Last week: 2nd
Letran is undoubtedly the hottest team in the league right now with six consecutive wins since the return of Louie Sangalang and Brent Paraiso from suspension. This week, they knocked it out of the park by winning three games by 15, 12, and 19-point margins.
They’re getting consistent performances from guys like Fran Yu, who was named the Collegiate Press Corps Player of the Week with averages 12.67 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals this week, as well as leading scorer Paraiso and King Caralipio, who norms close to a double-double with 11.5 points and 9.25 boards.
But with Sangalang and Pao Javillonar shoring up the frontcourt as well, there really is no shortage of contributors with big game experience on this lineup, and they have been looking in championship form lately.
2 De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Blazers | Record: 8-2 (Week 6 record: 1-0) | Last week: 3rd
After a stunning upset loss to EAC last week, Benilde will be glad to bounce back with a good win over Mapua this week. It wasn’t without some shaky moments as they entered the fourth quarter down by three, but they were able to put the Cardinals away with a huge 19-1 run in the fourth period.
The Blazers, when they are at their best, look really impressive. Will Gozum put up another huge line with 25 points, eight rebounds, and four assists while Miggy Corteza scored 18 points in the second half alone. They got this done despite relatively quiet nights from Migs Oczon and Robi Nayve, which just goes to show how much firepower this team has at its disposal.
They’re 8-2, with still the fewest losses of any team in the league right now. Benilde still has plenty of work to do and can’t afford any more lapses like in the EAC game, but they look like they’re in good position in the race for the Final Four.
3 Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates | Record: 8-3 (Week 6 record: 1-0) | Last week: 5th
Similar to Benilde, LPU bounced back this week after suffering an upset loss in the previous one. It’s a good sign for the Pirates that they were able to take care of business against EAC, though the final margin of six points isn't that comfortable after leading by 19 in the third quarter.
Mclaude Guadaña has been playing really well of late, and this game was no exception with 19 points. But he got plenty of help in this one, and that’s when Lyceum is most dangerous. Ato Barba, Enoch Valdez, Shawn Umali, and a host of others are all really capable of giving the team a huge lift, and this season they’ve found those guys more often than not when they needed it.
They’ve been overtaken by red-hot Letran, which just goes to show how a big a single loss can be when the standings are this tight. But they’re holding the fort well at 8-3, and are in pretty good shape at the moment.
4 Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers | Record: 5-2 (Week 6 record: 0-0) | Last week: 4th
JRU still hasn’t played a game since Week 4, but they should be some concern on their part as they watch teams like Letran pass them in the standings while they're on the shelf. They could face some challenges catching up to the schedule when they get back on the floor, but they can rest easy at #4 in the Power Rankings at least for this week.
5 San Beda University Red Lions | Record: 6-4 (Week 6 record: 0-1) | Last week: 1st
San Beda just could not get the job done this week in a tough overtime loss to Perpetual.
The Red Lions’ silver lining here is that, in a game where James Kwekuteye was having an off-night (five points on 2-for-17 shooting), they still nearly pulled it off in overtime. Contributions from JB Bahio, Peter Alfaro, and Yukien Andrada kept the team afloat, but they just fell short in the end. That’s the thing with close games, you can’t really win them all.
But that’s not a loss they’ll be happy about given the current Final Four picture. They’re on the outside looking in right now, though there’s a lot of season left to play and crucial rematches with the teams above them.
6 University of Perpetual Help System DALTA ALTAs | Record: 5-6 (Week 5 record: 1-1) | Last week: 10th
A bit of a mixed bag for Perpetual this week as they lost to Letran by double-figures but get a crucial win over San Beda in overtime. Given their schedule, coming out of Week 6 isn’t a bad result by any means, and they are able to close some distance on San Beda in the standings.
This also allows them to put two of their bigger second round matchups out of the way – giving them a chance to build a little bit of momentum moving forward. The next few games will be important for the ALTAs and they will need guys like John Abis and Carlo Ferreras – two heroes from the San Beda game – to keep showing up.
7 Mapua University Cardinals | Record: 3-9 (Week 6 record: 1-1) | Last week: 7th
Mapua will come away with a split this week, winning against EAC but losing to Benilde. They’ve been really respectable since picking up their breakthrough win. They’ve won three of their last four games with the lone defeat coming to the team that has led the league practically all season.
But the Cardinals have really left themselves with zero room for error in the second round after their 0-8 start. And they’ll need to be much more than respectable if they’re going to claw their way back into the playoff race.
8 Arellano University Chiefs | Record: 4-6 (Week 6 record: 0-1) | Last week: 9th
Rough stretch here for the Chiefs, who have now lost three in a row and five of their last six games. This week, they fall to streaking Letran after a big closing run by the Knights to put them away.
Cade Flores continues to play well. He posted 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in this one. But he didn’t get enough help, with no other Chief reaching double figures against Letran.
The Final Four is going to look more and more unlikely with each loss, so Arellano needs to pick up some big wins soon. It’s possible that they have time to get it together, but the clock is ticking.
9 San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags | Record: 3-6 (Week 6 record: 0-1) | Last week: 6th
San Sebastian will drop down to 9th in the Power Rankings after another disappointing week where they were beaten by Letran by 19 points. That makes it five losses in the last six games for the slumping Stags with their only win coming against the only team lower than them in these rankings – EAC.
Things are starting to look bleak for them, at least for this season. But it’s still early in the second round, and there will be chance to pick up some big wins.
10 Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals | Record: 1-11 (Week 6 record: 0-2) | Last week: 8th
After the high of their upset against Benilde, the Generals have come crashing back down to Earth with losses to LPU and Mapua. That 1-11 record means they’re unlikely to still be in contention for this season, but there’s plenty left to accomplish towards respectability with a whole lot of games left to play.
With Nat Cosejo continuing to play well (22 points per game in their two games this week) and Adrian Balowa emerging as well (11.5 points per game), there’s still hope for a much better second round following their winless campaign in the first round.
—JMB, GMA News
