Filoil Preseason Cup KO phase under way

The chase for the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup crown heats up beginning today with the start of the knockout phase among eight teams which survived the grueling qualifiers the last six weeks at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

St. Benilde, which surprised the field and topped Group B with a 7-1 slate, takes on Group A No. 4 University of the Philippines at 1 p.m., while defending champion San Beda tangles with a tall Adamson U side at 2:45 p.m.

La Salle, on the other hand, collides with UAAP rival Far Eastern U at 4 p.m. while Ateneo stakes its unbeaten 9-0 record against Letran in the main game at 7 p.m.

Despite their impressive elims performance, the Blazers brace for a tough outing against the Fighting Maroons, who rebounded from three straight losses with six straight wins to get into the KO round.

The Red Lions also kept their titleretention drive going on a late charge in the elims that saw them dislodge the Archers from the second place on a winner over the other rule (72-70) after both ended up with 7-2 cards.

Adamson actually had the chance to seize the top seeding in Group B but St. Benilde’s come-from-behind victory over San Sebastian foiled the Falcons’ bid.

Focus will also be on the ArchersTams duel with the former boasting of a combination of veterans and talented newcomers and the latter to bank on their wits, skills and smarts.