Games on Friday (The Arena)
10 a.m. — San Beda vs Mapua (Jrs)
11:45 a.m. — Perpetual vs San Sebastian (Jrs)
2 p.m. — San Beda vs Mapua (Srs)
4 p.m. — Perpetual vs San Sebastian (Srs)

San Sebastian College tries to keep its clean record on Friday when the Stags shoot for their 11th straight win in the NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena.

The Stags battle the University of Perpetual Help Altas in the 4 p.m. main game after the 2 p.m. match between defending champion San Beda and Mapua.

“There’s no time to relax,” SSC coach Ato Agustin said. “Everybody is eager to beat us, so we need to remain focused.”

Though they remain unbeaten, Agustin admitted that the Stags appear to be losing top form.

That was evident when the Stags struggled past cellar-dweller Angeles University Foundation, 81-69, last Monday.

“We’re going down. Our intensity is down. Dahil na rin siguro sa standing namin,” Agustin said. “I hope we don’t get overconfident next game (against Altas).”

Against the Altas, the Stags are heavily favored to win owing to their 76-64 win during the first round.

But Agustin doesn’t want to fall in a false sense of security.

“Despite down sila, you can see they want to win. We’re not taking them lightly,” said Agustin, who is expected to rely anew on Jimbo Aquino, the league’s scoring leader who norms 20.8 points per game.

Aside from Aquino, also expected to carry the scoring load for the Stags are John Raymundo, Gilbert Bulawan and Dave Najorda.

On the possibility of a two-round sweep for an outright Finals berth, Agustin said they’re not yet thinking of the idea but promised to do their best every game.

“Medyo mahirap yung sweep, lalo na sa dami ng teams ngayon. But we’ll take it one game at a time,” Agustin said.

The Red Lions, coming off a huge 96-81 victory over last year’s runner up Jose Rizal University last August 10, try to duplicate their 85-52 first round win against the Cardinals.

American import Sudan Daniel is expected anew to lead the Lions as he aims to make a fitting sequel to his 31-point career-high production against the Heavy Bombers last time out.