NCAA Power Rankings: San Beda Takes The Lead

1. San Beda Red Lions

(Overall record: 6-1; Last week: 2nd)

The two-time defending champion Red Lions flexed their defensive muscle last week, holding Mapua down to a then season-low 52 points (tying Lyceum’s 52 in a lopsided loss to Arellano last July 14). They then topped that by limiting JRU to a historically-bad 37 points last Saturday en route to back-to-back double-digit wins.

They finished a great week on top of the standings after rival San Sebastian slipped up last Monday. Nobody’s playing better basketball than San Beda at the moment, and that puts them right on top of the NCAA power rankings as the end of their first round nears.

2. San Sebastian Stags

(Overall record: 6-2; Last week: 1st)

San Sebastian has some reason to worry heading into its matchup against San Beda to close the first round. The Stags barely escaped Emilio Aguinaldo College last week with Ian Sangalang out with a knee injury. He returned against Mapua less than 100 percent, even posting nine points and eight rebounds in just 23 minutes, but the Stags still fell victim to an upset loss that dropped them from the top spot.

With San Sebastian’s Big Three carrying so much of the load for the Stags, they can’t afford to have any of them operating at less than full capacity, especially when they go against the very dangerous Red Lions.

3. Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers

(Overall record: 6-2; Last week: 3rd)

JRU has come under fire for its seeming inability to beat the best of the NCAA. They only have two losses in the season: to San Sebastian and this week to San Beda.

It’s worrying that they looked so out of it in both losses. The Heavy Bombers lost by 23 points to San Sebastian by allowing a whopping 101 points, the only triple-digit output this season. This week, they lost by 25 points to San Beda in a game wherein they scored a season-low 37 points.

There is no easy formula for JRU at this point, but it definitely needs to find a way to come out stronger mentally when it comes to the big games if it wants to challenge the top teams come playoff time.

4. Perpetual Altas

(Overall record: 6-3; Last week: 4th)

The Altas have proven to be one of the better teams in the NCAA this season, but they showed they still have issues to work out after falling to the unpredictable Arellano Chiefs, 63-54, to end their first round campaign.

They’ve played a lot of close games this season, with two overtime contests and three other games decided by five points or less. These growing pains will serve them well in the future, including the Arellano game where they allowed the Chiefs to close them out with a 14-3 run late in the game.

5. Letran Knights

(Overall record: 4-3; Last week: 5th)

It’s been a low-key campaign so far for the Knights, but they are quietly making a quality run with three wins in a row after hitting a soft patch of the schedule. They’re right on the cusp of the final four picture, and an upset win in one of their upcoming games against JRU or heated rival San Beda could put them in a decent position to make a splash in the second round.

But the mystery of what exactly is going on with Mythical Five center Raymond Almazan, who has reportedly missed not just games but also all team activities in the past days, continues to hurt the squad as they head into some very tough matchups.

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source: InterAktv