Games on Thursday (The Arena, San Juan)
10 a.m. — Mapua vs Arellano (Jrs)
11:45 a.m. — CSB vs AUF (Jrs)
2 p.m. — Mapua vs Arellano (Srs)
4 p.m. — CSB vs AUF (Srs)

Guest team Arellano University tries to stay in the hunt for the last NCAA basketball tournament Final Four berth on Thursday when it tangles with Mapua at The Arena in San Juan City.

Game time is 2 p.m. with the Chiefs facing a must-win situation against the Cardinals, who are already out of contention.

The Chiefs are currently at fifth with a 7-7 win-loss card, and they are three games behind the fourth-running Letran (11-5).

To at least force a playoff for the last semis spot, the Chiefs must win all their remaining four games and pray that the Knights lose their last two.

Clashing at 4 p.m. are College of St. Benilde and Angeles University Foundation, two teams hoping to improve their marks entering the homestretch of their campaigns.

The Pamapanga-based Great Danes are aiming to snap a 12-game losing skid while the short-handed Blazers are aiming to bounce back a from a 94-61defeat to league leader San Sebastian last week.

Both the Chiefs and the Cardinals take the floor today with no team carrying advantage owing to their close encounter in the first round although it was the Chiefs who prevailed in the end, 76-73.

Though their fate is no longer in their hands, Arellano head coach Junjie Ablan remains optimistic on their chances.

“I always tell my players that there is still hope and they should keep on fighting,” said Ablan, the youngest coach in the league at 30. “We need to keep going, do our best and hope for the best.”

The Chiefs looked poised to clinch the last Final Four berth two weeks back on the strength of a five-game winning run.

But they appeared to have run out of gas after yielding their last three matches against Letran, Jose Rizal and defending champion San Beda.

The first three semis slots have already been secured by the Stags (14-0), Red Lions (13-2) and the Heavy Bombers (13-2).