Games today:

(Mall of Asia Arena)

12 p.m. — Lyceum vs San Sebastian

2:30 p.m. — San Beda vs JRU

San Beda University guns for its third straight victory when it battles dangerous Jose Rizal University (JRU) in Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Game time is at 2:30 p.m. with the Red Lions gunning for their third straight win to remain on top of Group B of the country’s oldest collegiate league.

Prior to that, winless squads — Lyceum of the Philippines and San Sebastian College — will aim to barge into the win column when they collide in the first game at 12 p.m.

Lyceum head coach Gilbert Malabanan wants his players to show a sense of urgency after suffering a sorry 61-73 loss to the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta last Sunday.

“My players didn’t show any heart. That’s why we lost (against Perpetual),” Malabanan said.

San Beda opened its campaign on a sizzling note.

After beating College of Saint Benilde in the opener, the Red Lions sustained their momentum as they pulled off a convincing 68-58 win over longtime rival Letran College last Sunday.

New recruit Janti Miller made a lot of heads turn, erupting for 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting while adding five rebounds and two assists for the Red Lions, who are looking to reclaim the crown that was taken by Mapua University in Season 100 last year.

Still, San Beda coach Yuri Escueta is not looking to far. Instead, he wants to take their campaign one game at a time — starting against the Heavy Bombers, who pulled off a shocker when they shocked the Knights in the opener to give their new coach Nani Epondulan his first victory in the league.

“It’s nice that we are in this position,” Escueta said. “But we need to remain humble because we are still early in our campaign.”

Escueta, who played high school ball at San Beda, said Miller and Bryan Sajonia should retain their solid performance if they want to stay unscathed in the preliminaries.

 “I’m just very impressed with how Janti is handling coming off the bench. Especially, the talent and caliber like him,” said Escueta, an assistant coach for TNT Tropang 5G in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

“As a coach, I like to balance my scoring with the second and first group. He has accepted this role with open arms.”

Escueta also lauded the 6-foot-4 Filipino-American guard for his readiness despite coming off the bench in their last game.

“As long as you put him on the bench, he’s ready. I’m very pleased that he is humble enough to accept the role of coming off the bench,” Escueta said.

Shawn Argente will be the biggest threat for San Beda after he scored 27 points for the Heavy Bombers despite absorbing a 65-68 loss to Emilio Aguinaldo College last Tuesday.