With only 2 elimination games remaining, the Play-In and Quarterfinals Matchups have already been set in the NCAA Season 101 Men’s Basketball.
Which team has it takes to survive and win it all?
PLAY-IN TOURNAMENT: JRU vs EAC – LPU vs San Sebastian
Perhaps this was the most certain matchup, as a lot of fans have predicted ever since it was announced that this season, the NCAA will feature a Play-In tournament.
As of November 22, these are the #4 and #5 teams in Group A and B
GROUP A:
- Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates (3 wins and 9 losses)
- San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags (3 wins and 10 losses)
GROUP B:
- Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (6 wins and 7 losses)
- Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (4 wins and 9 losses)
In the two meetings of LPU against the Golden Stags, the Rob Labagala mentored San Sebastian first got the win last October 10 after a thrilling double overtime with a score of 100 – 94. Then in their second encounter, the Pirates even things up last November 15 as they take the 88 – 74 victory.
That being said, it’s hard to tell which team has an advantage entering the Play-In tournament, considering how well Jhuniel Dela Rema is playing for the Golden Stags and how efficient Joshua Moralejo and Gyle Montaño are for LPU.
On the other side for Group B, the 2 meetings between JRU and EAC the script has been the same as both teams get one win each.
What’s interesting though is that both games were decided by just 1 basket.
In their first meeting, EAC got the win with a final score of 68 – 65. In their second clash, it was another thrilling ending as Rookie Sean Salvador gave the Heavy Bombers the 69 – 66 win.
It’s also worth noting in the last game of the Generals, they played the 2nd and 3rd stringers of College of Saint Benilde and they still couldn’t get the victory last November 21.
So heading to Wednesday, which team got a better advantage of winning? The Nani Epondulan mentored JRU Heavy Bombers might win it and move to the next round.
QUARTERFINALS: CSB vs MAPUA – ARELLANO vs LETRAN
The most exciting playoff matchup has to be in this Quarterfinals face off as the defending champions Mapúa University will try to win twice against their rival, College of Saint Benilde.
As of November 22, these are the #2 and #3 teams in Group A and B:
- (Twice to Beat Advantage) College of Saint Benilde vs Mapúa University
- (Twice to Beat Advantage) Arellano University vs Colegio de San Juan de Letrán
With the CSB Blazers being the #2 team in Group B, they earned themselves a Twice to Beat Advantage against Cardinals.
The very same team who eliminated them for the past 2 seasons.
The Cardinals beat the Blazers in the Final Four of Season 98 back in 2023 while in Season 99, the Clint Escamis led group swept the Allen Liwag squad in the 2024 Finals, 2 games to none.
In the current Season 101, the only meeting between the two, it resulted in a CSB win. The Charles Tiu mentored team even started the game 18 – 0 and ended the game with a victory 75 – 65.
Mapúa even lost in their last elimination game against Arellano on November 21 so the odds of beating the 2x NCAA Runners up is definitely not in their favor.
Over on the other QF matchup, the Arellano Chiefs will have 2 opportunities in eliminating the Letrán Knights.
In their lone meeting this season, the Knights annihilated the Chiefs 83 to 65 last October 26.
But seeing the clutch genes of T-Mc Ongotan and Renzo Abiera for Arellano, it’s hard to count them out especially after coming back from a 3 and 6 record to start the season.
I guess one thing is certain, the Letrán vs Arellano matchup will be a fireworks display. Think about the one-on-one plays we’ll see:
T-Mc Ongotan against Jonathan Manalili
Renzo Abiera against Jimboy Estrada
It’ll be the Chief’s defense against the high octane offense of the Knights.
QUARTERFINALS (Waiting for Play-In Winners): Perpetual and San Beda
The two teams who have the luxury of rest are the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and San Beda University.
The Altas got the #1 seed in Group A after the record of 8 wins and 4 losses, earning them a Twice to Beat Advantage in the Quarterfinals.
While the Red Lions took the #1 seed in the Group of Death after having a win loss record of 9 and 3.
The Patrick Sleat led Altas will wait for the winner of the EAC vs JRU Play-In while the Agjanti Miller led Red Lions will wait for the winner of LPU vs San Sebastian.
This season, Perpetual won both their games against the Generals and the Heavy Bombers. Meanwhile the Red Lions did win against the Golden Stags but suffered an upset loss against the LPU Pirates led by Joshua Moralejo.
So if I had to pick a winner moving into the Semifinals?
I believe UPHSD can take either the Heavy Bombers or the Generals.
But for the Red Lions? I think they’ll be pushed into a sudden death by either the Golden Stags or Pirates.
PLAYOFF PICTURE and SCHEDULES
For a better perspective, here’s the Playoff Picture and the Schedule below:
Photo Credits: Screenshot from NCAA Season 101 Youtube Live
- November 25 (Tuesday) at FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City
- [11:00 AM] Lyceum of the Philippines University vs San Sebastian College-Recoletos
- [2:30 PM] Emilio Aguinaldo College vs Jose Rizal University
- November 26 (Wednesday) at FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City
- [11:00 AM] (Twice to Beat Advantage) Arellano University vs Colegio de San Juan de Letrán
- [2:30 PM] (Twice to Beat Advantage) College of Saint Benilde vs Mapúa University
- November 28 (Friday) at FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City
- [12:00 NN] (Twice to Beat Advantage) University of Perpetual Help System DALTA vs {winner of EAC vs JRU}
- [2:30 PM] (Twice to Beat Advantage) San Beda University vs {LPU vs San Sebastian}
