NCAA Power Rankings: San Beda Stays On Top

1. San Beda Red Lions

(Overall record: 8-2; Last week: 2nd)

Entering the second round in a three-way tie for the top spot, the Red Lions were the only team that took care of business this week, pounding the Lyceum Pirates, 77-47, behind a season-high 16 assists from Baser Amer and 17 points from Jake Pascual.

Despite the loss to San Sebastian near the end of the first round, San Beda is starting to look like the steadier team. In their last three wins (against JRU, Letran and Lyceum), no team has come closer than 22 points. And that gives them the solo lead in the NCAA standings and great position moving forward in the second round.

2. Perpetual Help Altas

(Overall record: 7-3; Last week: 4th)

Perpetual got back to its winning ways against Saint Benilde this week, bouncing back from an upset loss to Arellano at the end of the first round. The Altas have had a lot of close calls against lower-ranked teams in their last few games, including this one where they let a 15-point third quarter lead dwindle down to one point with a minute and a half remaining.

That’s not a great sign for the Altas. But what is a good sign is that they got the ‘W’ – which puts them three victories ahead of their closest pursuer for the last spot in the final four.

3. San Sebastian Stags

(Overall record: 7-3; Last week: 1st)

San Sebastian suffered upset losses in two of their last three in games that probably say more about them than about their competition. There’s no doubt the Stags have a great on-court product, but one has to wonder about their motivation to continue competing at a high level at this point, especially reigning Most Valuable Player Calvin Abueva, who was drafted by the Alaska Aces in the PBA Draft last Sunday.

To top things off, they’ll have to deal with the surprise resignation of coach Topex Robinson, who will focus on his duties as part of the Aces’ coaching staff.

4. Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers

(Overall record: 7-3; Last week: 4th)

After closing out an impressive first round with losses only to San Beda and San Sebastian, JRU disappointed this week, falling to the Arellano Chiefs. The JRU defense, which held opponents to under 80 points in seven of their first eight games, has allowed 83 and 85 in the last two contests.

On the plus side, the scoring has been high of late – the Heavy Bombers are averaging 91.5 points in the two games since San Beda held them to a season-low 37 earlier this month – but they’ve had a lot of success keeping the scores low and it’s interesting to see how this plays out for them in the coming days.

5. Mapua Cardinals

(Overall record: 4-5; Last week: 5th)

The Cardinals stayed idle this week, but things are looking up for them after winning back-to-back games to close out the first round. Defense has been leading the way for the Cards in their current streak, holding San Sebastian and Arellano to 54 and 49 points, both season-lows for Mapua.

In fact, all four of their wins this season happen to be the games where they allowed the least amount of points. They lost all five games in which they allowed more than 63 points, and are 4-0 when allowing 63 or less. continue reading