Pirates to secure Final Four bonus

With the Final Four seat already in the bag, Lyceum of the Philippines University tries to secure the No. 2 spot for the twice-to-beat incentive in the next round as it battles San Sebastian College in Season 95 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball today at Filoil flying V Center in San Juan.

Game time is at 2 p.m. with the Stags also tipped to go all out as they hunt a win to stay in the Final Four derby.

In the first game at 12 noon, College of Saint Benilde tries to salvage what is left in its Final Four bid as it battles also-ran Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) while Jose Rizal University (JRU) and University of Perpetual Help face off at 4 p.m. in a virtual knockout match as both teams are on the brink of elimination.

Lyceum drubbed San Sebastian in their first-round meeting, 80-69, last 23 July in the game where Stags head coach Egay Macaraya was suspended one game by the league for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Macaraya was caught on video during the huddle ordering his player to slap the injured hand of Lyceum’s Mike Nzeusseu.

The San Sesbastian mentor apologized after the incident.

But Pirates mentor Topex Robinson is not harboring any ill feeling on Macaraya and his former team.

“Playing against San Sebastian is an exciting moment for me and we know that they’re positioning themselves on Final Four so we know how important this game is for them,” Robinson said.

“This game is an opportunity for us to get better and we will give our one hundred percent effort on how we will play. We don’t really look ahead, we just focus on what’s ahead of us,” he added.

Lyceum is coming off an 83-71 win against the Generals last Friday to avenge its shocking 82-84 loss to EAC last 12 July.

“We don’t want to look at the ghost of the past, but we want to make sure that we’re not going to make the same mistakes again,” Robinson said.

The Stags are coming off a 69-52 win over the Heavy Bombers to snap a three-game losing streak and tighten their grip of the No. 4 spot with 8-6 mark.

Meanwhile, the Blazers shoot for a crucial win against the 3-12 Generals to keep their hopes alive for the Final Four slot.

Saint Benilde is currently at sixth spot with 6-8 mark and the Blazers need to sweep their last four games to have a shot for the semis.

JRU and Perpetual are holding identical 4-10 slates and mathematically are still in the race for the No. 4 spot although their fates are no longer in their hands.