FOR other teams to dislodge Mapua off its NCAA pedestal, they will have to scratch and claw against each other first.
That’s the consensus after the Grand Ol’ League released the groupings for the Season 101 seniors basketball tournament.
READ: Letran, Benilde, San Beda all together in NCAA 101 group of death
And easily, Group B – featuring runner-up Benilde, perennial contenders San Beda and Letran, darkhorse Emilio Aguinaldo College, and upstart Jose Rizal University – has easily emerged as the ‘Group of Death’.
“It’s funny, we talked about this happening, and it really did,” shared Blazers coach Charles Tiu, seemingly having had a premonition of a scenario just like this: strong challengers being bunched together.
And to him, it makes CSB’s climb that tougher, as he noted that the Taft side will just have to roll with the punches if it wants to end a 25-year title drought.
“We can’t do anything. If we want to be champions, we have to prove it and earn it anyways, so it’s alright,” he said.
The new format, introduced specifically for this season, will see all 10 teams play a double-round elimination format, as they will play teams in the same group twice while meeting teams from the other pool once to complete the 13-game preliminary schedule.
The top three teams progress to the quarterfinals, while the last two clash in a play-in for fourth-place before the quarterfinals, where the top two teams earn twice-to-beat advantages.
It’s these incentives which make the arms race to the top all the more intense.
“With this system, you cannot relax. If you want to gain an advantage heading into the playoffs, you need to stay locked in every game,” observed Knights coach Allen Ricardo.
“It’s a good trial run that even the lower-ranked teams now have a real chance to pull off upsets from the play-in all the way to the quarterfinals.”
He furthered: “As for us, Group B feels like the 'Group of Fire,' that every matchup is intense and there’s no room to take it easy.”
Generals shot-caller Jerson Cabiltes echoed those sentiments, saying, “Every team is striving to be top two of their group, and ours is a very tough group. So for us, we will just need to prepare much harder having the three strongest teams in our group. Malay mo, baka may blessings itong groupings for us to finally reach the Final Four this season.”
Coach Yuri's contrarian take
But for Red Lions coach Yuri Escueta, he sees the other group as being the stronger one, considering those teams’ preseason performances.
“Malalakas din yung kabila. Tinalo kami ng Perpetual and Arellano nung Filoil. Baka mas sila ang 'Group of Death' kasi unpredictable sila,” he said of Group A where the reigning titlists Cardinals are grouped together with the Altas and Chiefs, as well as Lyceum and San Sebastian.
Nonetheless, Escueta still had the same thoughts about their own pool and remarked:
“We have to prepare for the tough games and these tough games will be for our own good.”
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