NCAA Power Rankings: San Beda Maintains Top Spot

The second round got into full swing this week, with some teams positioning themselves well for the eventual race for the final four while others look to be falling out of it altogether. There were some huge matchups, including one between two teams that could end up duking it out for the last spot in the playoffs. That means an exciting week for the NCAA – and plenty of movement up and down the Power Rankings.

1. San Beda Red Lions

(Overall record: 9-2; Last week: 1st)

Baser Amer has been on an absolute tear of late, handing out 16 assists recently against Lyceum (and finishing with nine points in that game despite not taking a shot through the first three quarters) and adding to that with an impressive 11-assist performance (with only two points) this week against Saint Benilde.

San Beda has plenty of offensive weapons, but it’s been Amer making life easier for his teammates. And it has looked very easy for the Red Lions, winning three consecutive games by an average margin of 23.3 points per game since their loss to San Sebastian near the end of the first round. They’re definitely among the cream of the crop here in the NCAA, and no team has come in and proven that game-in, game-out quite like San Beda.

2. San Sebastian Stags

(Overall record: 8-3; Last week: 3rd)

The Stags hurdled their first test since the resignation of their coach, Topex Robinson, when they cruised past cellar-dweller Lyceum despite Calvin Abueva getting ejected in the third quarter. The recent struggles of talented scorer Ronald Pascual is troubling, as is the suspension of Abueva for the next game for his actions against the Pirates, but San Sebastian should be encouraged about the fact that they can win games in spite of those things.

Having to hurdle midseason adversity is something that builds character for teams, and if the Stags can pull through this rough patch, they should be all the better for it in the long haul.

3. Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers

(Overall record: 8-3; Last week: 4th)

It wasn’t exactly a great week for the Heavy Bombers, struggling to put away the Cardinals in a game where they showed an uncharacteristic lack of aggressiveness. Leading scorer Nate Matute ran into some bad luck in that game, too, suffering a minor contusion and very obviously showing signs of pain while on the floor. That’s not the best way to bounce back from an upset loss to Arellano the week before, but JRU will gladly take the win.

It hasn’t been an ideal start to the second round, but the Heavy Bombers collect another win that should take them one step closer to another final four appearance.

4. Letran Knights

(Overall record: 6-5; Last week: 7th)

Letran is still on the outside looking in when it comes to the final four picture but they had a huge result this week when they defeated the Perpetual Altas, which is currently sitting in the last spot in the top four. The Knights are knocking on the door now, and with center Raymond Almazan beginning to look like his old self (15 rebounds, four blocks) against the Altas after a quiet outing in his first game back from a prolonged absence, it should surprise no one if they make a big push in their playoff bid here in the second round.

5. Perpetual Help Altas

(Overall record: 7-4; Last week: 2nd)

The Altas are probably sweating it a little bit after the loss to the Knights. They’re still ahead in the standings, so their fate is still pretty much in their own hands. But there’s no room for a slip-up now, especially against the teams in the bottom-half of the standings. Perpetual is going to have to bring it consistently in every game if they want to hang onto the fourth spot.

But that’s a tall task for a team that’s shown the tendency to be inconsistent even within a single game, often building huge leads only to lose them, or like in the Letran game, falling behind early and having to come back from a big deficit. continue reading.