UNBEATEN teams De La Salle and College of St. Benilde will be tested when they battle separate opponents in the crossover semifinals of the Pinoyliga Next Man cUP Season 3 on Thursday (April 24) at the Enderun Colleges gym in Taguig City.
The Green Archers clash with the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals in the first game at 12 noon, while St. Benilde Blazers collide with New Era University at 2 p.m.
Both La Salle and College of St. Benilde finished their respective groups with identical 5-0 records, and then made the semifinals via different routes.
La Salle enjoys incentive
As the No. 1 team in the Prime division, the twice-to-beat Green Archers got solid performances from their backcourt pair of Jacob Cortez and Kean Baclaan to easily disposed St. Dominic College of Asia, 86-73,
Cortez recorded 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Baclaan finished with double-double 17 points and 10 assists. Foreign student athlete Bright Nwankwo collected 14 points and 12 boards, and Luis Pablo added 15 for La Salle.
St. Benilde, on the other hand, had an easier path towards the semifinals as the top seed team in the Edge division earned a spot via forfeiture when Enderun Colleges opted to withdraw from the tournament due to injuries to some of its players.
The two teams, which interestingly both finished runner-up in both the UAAP (La Salle) and NCAA (St. Benilde), respectively last season, will face tough challenge in the crossover semifinals.
New Era booked a spot in the semifinals by eliminating defending NCAA champion Mарua, 69-62, in the quarterfinals.
Emilio Aguinaldo College, meantime, made good use of its twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals.
After losing in the first game to Guang Ming Calleges 86-84, the Generals came back with a masterful 90-70 win to enter the semis behind the 23 points of Marvin Raymundo, and the 21 and 10 boards of Ruzzelle Dominguez.
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