Final Four on Stags’ radar

Our first goal is to make it to the Final Four

Red-hot San Sebastian College seeks to extend its winning streak when it clashes with University of Perpetual Help System Dalta in Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Action starts at 12 noon with the Golden Stags gunning for their sixth straight victory to forge a tie with idle Lyceum of the Philippines University at the second spot with an 8-3 win-loss mark.

After that, rejuvenated Mapua University challenges College of Saint Benilde at 2 p.m. followed by the collision between Jose Rizal University (JRU) and Arellano University in the 4 p.m. featured encounter of this explosive weekday triple-header.

After a slow start, the Stags are now unstoppable as they crushed their next five opponents, including erstwhile leaders Blazers, 83-67, in their previous game.

Stags coach Egay Macaraya said now that they are on a roll, their goal is to capture as many wins as they can in the second round to punch a ticket to the Final Four.

The last time the Stags were in the Final Four was in 2017 when they took the fourth spot only to fall to San Beda College, which coasted all the way to the title.

“Our first goal is to make it to the Final Four,” said Macaraya, admitting that the job is still far from over as teams like Letran, Saint Benilde, Mapua and JRU are all capable of springing a surprise.

“I hope everybody’s healthy so we could do the same intensity in playing defense and offense to sustain the momentum and keep on winning.”

To realize their Final Four dream, Macaraya is tipped to bank on Allyn Bulanadi, who torched the Blazers with a career-high 32 points to capture their fifth straight victory.

Bulanadi was also at the helm, finishing with 31 points when the Stags drubbed Perpetual, 107-90, in their first-round encounter on 23 August.