Former PBA MVP Vergel Meneses hopes to make the 2010 Filoil Flying V Invitational Cup which opens this Saturday at The Arena in San Juan as another stepping stone in his bid to prepare the Heavy Bombers for the coming NCAA season.

The Filoil event appears to be perfect for Meneses’ long-term plans as several NCAA teams are likewise entered in the tournament.

For Meneses, a tournament like the Filoil Invitational adds a new dimension to his preparations since he just took over the reins of this school which has not won an NCAA title since 1972, a streak Meneses, who won the 1995 PBA Most Valuable Player, took over the reigns from Ariel Vanguardia last November.

So far, it’s been a good start for Meneses, who was known as the Aerial Voyager during his PBA days. In his first tournament as coach, he guided the Mandaluyong-based squad to a second place finish in the Fr. Martin Cup behind San Beda.

"Sa amin kasi, we treat each game as a championship game. Medyo may mabibigat din kaming tinalo sa Fr. Martin's Cup, like FEU and Adamson, but I'm sure they will make the adjustment here in Filoil Flying V Cup. Mas mahirap na dito, but we'll try our best to at least make it to the Final Four again," Meneses said.

This time around, Meneses will have to rely on a few holdovers to make JRU competitive in lieu of the departures of top players like reigning MVP John Wilson, James Sena, Marc Cagoco and John Agas.

Wilson still has one playing year for the Bombers but he sympathized with Vanguardia, whose contract was not renew despite steering the team to the Finals two years ago. He was expected to bring the team to the Finals again but he failed.

Still, Meneses believes he still have enough firepower in his armory with the presence of lefty Marvin Hayes, Raycom Kabigting, John Lopez, JR Bulangis, African John Njei and John Montemayor. They also plucked rookie JR Yasa from their high school ranks.

"We're one of the youngest teams dito sa Filoil Flying V, but we will always go down fighting," Meneses added.

JRU will take on San Sebastian, the reigning NCAA champion, in Saturday's opener in a rematch of last year's NCAA Final Four encounter.

The Heavy Bombers lost to eventual champion Far Eastern University in the quarterfinals of last year's tilt.