New-day rivals De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and Jose Rizal University will square off in a crucial encounter on Tuesday in bid to strengthen their Final Four hopes in the NCAA Season 99 at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
The Blazers and the Heavy Bombers will meet for the second time this season at 3:30 p.m., which will also mark the day before the one-year anniversary of the incident regarding former JRU player John Amores.
READ MORE | Lessons learned and moving on: One year after JRU-Benilde incident
Benilde got the better of JRU during their heated first round meeting last September 29, which saw Will Gozum and Miggy Corteza take over in the overtime victory. But a lot has happened to both teams since then.
The Heavy Bombers had captured three straight victories after that tough loss before winning four of the eight games that followed as they remained at fifth spot at 8-5.
The Blazers, on the other hand, fell to San Beda and Mapua before finding back their groove to establish two winning streaks separated by a loss to EAC last October 20.
All eyes will be on reigning MVP Gozum, who is now peaking at the right time following his struggle on the court due to an offseason injury he sustained.
A win by Benilde will break a two-way tie at the third spot with the Red Lions at 8-4 while a JRU triumph could push them to the fourth slot.
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Arellano University, meanwhile, will open the double-header at 1:30 p.m. in bid to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Perpetual is coming off a huge victory against JRU last Saturday with sophomore ace Jun Roque lifting the embattled ALTAs to a 72-61 while Arellano previously fell to Benilde with a 74-56 defeat.
A loss would officially boot out the Chiefs from contention to join defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran as the first eliminated teams.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
