Games Today (The Arena)
10 a.m. — JRC vs UPHDS (Jrs)
11:45 a.m. — Mapua vs CSB (Jrs)
2 p.m. — JRC vs UPHDS (Srs)
4 p.m. — Mapua vs CSB (Srs)

Pre-season favorite Jose Rizal University and College of St. Benilde hope to forge a four-way tie for the lead when they seek their second win against separate rivals today in the 85th NCAA basketball at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Heavy Bombers, bannered by several PBL, veterans face the University of Perpetual Help Altas at 2 p.m. while the Blazers collide with the Mapua Cardinals at 4 p.m.

A win by Jose Rizal and St. Benilde will give them a piece of the lead alongside San Sebastian and Arellano, which pulled off a pair of surprising triumphs Wednesday.

The Stags stunned defending champion San Beda, 83-77, while Arellano humbled Letran, 81-73, to seize the lead with similar 2-0 cards.

Looking for redemption after losing in the finals last season, the Bombers try to follow up their thrilling 69-66 win over the Knights last Saturday when they battle the Altas who are raring to bounce back from 64-76 setback to the Stags.

“We need to be aggressive on both ends of the floor. We also need to be focused so we can avoid what happened last time. We almost lost the game because we underestimated the team,” said JRU mentor Ariel Vanguardia, referring to the team’s breakdown against the Knights when it blew a 17-point lead.