It's going to be a grueling race to the top as heavyweights University of Perpetual Help System Dalta, Letran College and Mapua University march to war zone in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 99 juniors basketball tournament today at the Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan.

Toting identical 6-1 win-loss cards, the reigning champion Squires and Junior Altas will slug it out at 10 a.m. for a victory that will cement their grip on the twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four entering the final day of eliminations on 3 March.

Meanwhile, the Red Robins, who also fashion a 6-1 mark, face dangerous San Sebastian College at 2:30 p.m. for a win that will improve their positioning in the semis.

San Sebastian is running second with 5-2 while San Beda University is not far behind with a 4-3 record, making the last couple of matches very crucial as far as the race to the Final Four is concerned.

Jose Rizal University, Emilio Aguinaldo College and College of Saint Benilde are already eliminated with 2-5 records together with cellar-dwellers Arellano University and Lyceum of the Philippines University.

Junior Altas coach Joph Cleopas said the battle is far from done as they have to win over the reigning champions if they want to move closer to the title.

"I told the boys to be disciplined in practices and actual games," said Cleopas, who drew a triple-double from Amiel Acido and a solid performance from JD Pagulayan in their previous win over the Light Bombers, 102-84.

Acido fired 17 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists while Pagulayan nailed a game-high 24 points.

"Every day is a learning process, a chance for us to correct our errors. I told them to win one game at a time and focus on the main goal which is to reach the Final Four."

Aside from Acido and Pagulayan, also tipped to carry the cudgels for the Junior Altas are Lebron Daep, Mark Gojo Cruz and Aries Borja.