TWO STREAKING sides look to continue their winning ways in the NCAA Season 94 as neighbors Letran and Lyceum battle separate foes on Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Pirates target their seventh win in as many games when they face the College of St. Benilde Blazers, while the Knights target their fourth straight win when they take on the Arellano Chiefs at 4 p.m.
The Pirates have been virtually unstoppable in the elimination round, having won 23 games in a row dating back from last season.
While that may not matter still, considering the sweep didn’t translate into a championship for the Pirates – what matters for head coach Topex Robinson is how they have learned from the bitter defeat in the finals last season.
“I guess, it is how we got over the adversity of losing in the Finals. It’s a done thing for us,” Robinson said.
“What’s important is we remind everybody not to be defined by a loss, but how we pick ourselves up from a loss. This team is really committed to what we worked on,” he added.
While the Pirates are yet to be defeated this season, the Knights have been on a roll since starting the season on a wrong note.
A loss to Perpetual Help in the opener of their season gave the Knights an early wake-up call as they have won three straight to keep pace with the league leading Lyceum and San Beda (4-0).
They have been masterful in imposing their size and grinding out wins, with their biggest one coming last week when they grounded the Blazers in their home floor, 64-60.
After that shocker against the Altas, Jeff Napa is confident that his players have learned how to turn on the heat without needing to be hands on to them.
“Ito namang mga to, hindi ko na kailangan magalit sa kanila e. Alam nila kung anong gagawin nila e, alam nila kung kalian sila sisindi at pupukpok. It’s a matter kung paano namin sila ippace, yung mga players throughout the game. Yun talaga ang hinahabol namin,” said Napa.
“Alam ko naman yung character namin, madown man kami, babalik at babalik kami. Andun yung mentality kaya naging maganda ang resulta,” he added.
The Knights will once again be relying on their ceiling against another fast-paced squad in Arellano and Napa is leaving no stones unturned.
“We don’t take Arellano for granted. We have to prepare. May four days kami para magprepare against Arellano so back to the drawing board. Magttrabaho ulit kami para maging pabor samin yung situation,” Napa continued.
“Arellano is a fast paced team e. Andun yung dati kong player si Levi, kailangan namin siya stop-in. Kailangan amin respetuhin yan. Arellano is a very good team kaya kailangan namin magprepare ng todo para maging pabor sa amin.”
Meantime, Mapua (2-3) and San Sebastian (2-4) looks to move past the log jam in the middle as they open the triple-header at 12 noon.
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