IF the first round of the NCAA Season 100 Basketball was tough, expect it to be tougher in the last round of the double-round elimination.
This was basically the expectation of both coaches Charles Tiu of College of St. Benilde and Yuri Escueta of San Beda, whose respective squads have emerged the top two finishers of the just concluded opening round.
“I still think it’s very shaky to be honest, I would have wanted to end with one or zero losses if possible. We were there every game even our losses medyo nag collapse lang kami in the end,” said Tiu, whose Blazers ended up with the best record in the first half of the elims with a 7-2 card.
“We could have been easdily 9-0 but its part of basketball.”
“Wala pa kami na accompish so we have to make sure to stay sharp in the second round when it matters,” he added.
“Marami pa kaming dapat ayusin but we’re getting there and hopefully after nine games, naka adjust na sa NCAA type of game and atmosphere,” Escueta, for his part, said after his Lions took the No. 2 seed after finishing tied for it with Mapua and Letran with 6-3 slates.
Based on the results, there was no doubt that anybody can beat anybody.
Even CSB and San Beda felt the brunt of scary parity the league is now experiencing with both losing to vastly improved Arellano U, a team near the bottom of the standings with a 3-6 card.
Even the last-placed team, San Sebastian, pulled off its only two victories at the expense of Final Four contenders Letran (6-3) and Lyceum of the Philippines U (4-5).
That is why EAC mentor Jerson Cabiltes, whose squad owns a 4-5 mark including a giant-sized win over San Beda, the defending champion, is feeling confident they’re still in the hunt.
“This win was really important for us because it gave us a fighting chance, said Cabiltes referring to its 97-80 win over SSC-R Tuesday.
It’s basically the same with the rest of the field going into the second round tentatively set to start Friday.
