NCAA football Final Four fires off today

COLLEGE of Saint Benilde ( CSB) collides with San Beda College while Arellano University takes on Lyceum of the Philippines University as the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA) Season 93 seniors football tournament Final Four fires off today at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila.

The No. 1 Blazers battle the No. 4 Red Booters at 8 p. m. while the No. 2 Chiefs take on the No. 3 Pirates at 6 p. m., with the top two seeds holding a twice- tobeat advantage.

In a surprising development, CSB leaped atop the seven- team standings with 13 points on a 4- 1- 1 win- draw- loss record and a superior goal difference over Arellano while the former top seeded San Beda dropped to the fourth spot with seven markers on a 2- 1- 3 slate.

This came after the Mendiola-based squad forfeited its games against Emilio Aguinaldo College (10-1), Mapua University (10-0) and Arellano (1-2) for fielding in midfielder Zynedine Peñaflor, who failed to comply with the league’s eligibility requirements.

“During the eligibility meeting, San Beda and Lyceum requested that they submit their requirements this January, running the risk of forfeiting their games if there are players who will be found ineligible later on,” said Peter Cayco, chairman of NCAA football organizing committee.

“San Beda sent a letter saying they have discovered that one of their players failed to make the eligibility requirements, so they are voluntarily forfeiting the games where that player played,” added Cayco.

The Bedan Booters’ bid for a back- toback championship and a historic 23rd title was jeopardized as they now stare at a twice- to- beat deficit against their finals foes last season.

San Beda pulled off a 1- 0 win over Saint Benilde, thanks to Aljo Zabala’s stunning free kick in the last game of eliminations.

Meanwhile, Arellano got a bigger chance to reclaim the trophy as it moved up to the second spot and secured an incentive.

The Chiefs, who won it all in 2015, finished with 13 points on a 4- 1- 1 card.

Standing in the way of Arellano is Lyceum, which tallied nine points on a 2-3-1 sheet.

The Chiefs and the Pirates battled to a 2-2 draw in their preliminary round encounter.

In the juniors division, No. 1 CSB- La Salle Greenhills faces No. 4 Arellano at 2 p. m. even as No. 2 San Beda clashes against No. 3 Colegio de San Juan de Letran at 4 p. m.