San Beda five, Letran dispute Aspirant Cup’s 2nd finals slot

Game Thursday (Ynares Sports Arena) 3 p.m. – Marinerong

LONGTIME collegiate rivals Marinerong Pilipino-San Beda and Wangs Basketball @27 Strikers-Letran go at it once more in a sudden death Game 3 of the 2023 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup semifinals Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena. Game time is at 3 p.m. with the Red Lions and the Knights disputing the last finals seat on the line that will send the winner to a title duel against reigning champion EcoOil-La Salle . The bestof-three finale will be next week.

The two archrivals split their first two battles, with San Beda forcing the deciding match with a 74-51 win in Game 2 Tuesday.

“I’m sure, coach Rensy (Bajar) will adjust. It’ a do-or-die Game 3. They’ll be ready and we have to be ready for it. We have to show much more effort than Letran,” said San Beda coach Yuri Escueta.

Behind a balanced attack led by Peter Alfaro and Jacob Cortez, San Beda practically dominated Game 2 to more than atone for its disappointing meltdown in the series opener .

The Red Lions blew an early 24-point lead in Game 1 and went on to surrender the match to the Knights, 93-87, in overtime.

The 18th hole of Forest Hills Nicklaus course pected to be a wild finish into a runaway victory, cruising to a five-shot romp over Lloyd Go and Clyde Mondilla in last week’s ICTSI Valley Golf Challenge. But the Del Monte ace is wary of making it two-in-a-row at Forest Hills where he has practically no local knowledge of, saying: “I need to toughen up and work on some parts of my game to win again.”

The Red Lions, the elims topnotcher, are not expecting Game 3 to be a walk in the park. Instead they are prepared for a tough grind against the three-time reigning NCAA champion Knights.