Greg Slaughter and Junmar Fajardo will meet for the first time in two years as UAAP champion and PCCL three-peat seeking Ateneo battles CESAFI winner and Southern Island titlist University of Cebu at 2 p.m.
But that match could be overshadowed by the second game pitting NCAA champion San Beda and San Sebastian at 4 p.m. in the first meeting of both teams since the "Black Friday" incident involving the former's cage squad and the latter's volleyball teams.
The Red Lions of coach Frankie Lim are expected to show up ready for battle after they figured in a brawl during the NCAA women's volleyball tournament that left the Stags' volleyball coach Roger Gorayeb and libero Mae Crisostomo with swollen faces.
While many will probably look for San Sebastian to exact revenge, coach Topex Robinson isn't going to let his team turn this match into what he described as a "basket-brawl."
"It's a chance for us to prove to everyone that we're not squatters," said Robinson. "I told them that it's an extra motivation for us since it was like a sister and a father who got involved in that fight."
Regardless, the Stags are out to get back at the Red Lions anyway after a stinging defeat in the NCAA finals last October.
Meanwhile, it will be an interesting showdown between Slaughter and Fajardo who last met in the 2009 CESAFI finals with the former leading University of the Visayas to its ninth crown.
Since then, Slaughter transferred to Ateneo and made a name for himself in the UAAP this season by leading the Loyola campus to its seventh championship. With him gone, Fajardo became the king of Cebu, powering the Webmasters to back-to-back championships.
The 6-foot-11 Slaughter could not hide his excitement of facing the 6-foot-10 Fajardo saying, "We obviously had a lot of battles during my time in Cebu and it's going to be another tough game for both of us."
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