AFTER being tripped, they got back on their feet and went on to rise to the top of the podium.
San Beda, derailed in the series opener before coming up with a squeaker in the next game, completed its title run with a 69-61 victory over a gritty La Salle Greenhills side on Thursday to claim the juniors basketball title in the 87th National Collegiate Athletic Association at The Arena in San Juan.
The Cubs were on cruise control with an 18-game sweep of the eliminations but hit a huge bump when the Greenies took Game One, 85-82.
San Beda barely got up in their next encounter, pulling off a 74-73 squeaker to even the series, and now it is the winningest juniors team in the NCAA with 19 titles, surpassing the record of 18-time champion Mapua Red Robins.
It was the Red Cubs’ third-straight championship, while completing a golden double for San Beda, after the Red Lions swept the San Sebastian College Stags in the seniors title showdown.
They also now own three twin titles, after winning both the seniors and juniors crowns in 1978 and 2010.
“Ang sarap ng feeling because of this history. On this day, we made history. We got our 19th title,” said Red Cubs coach Britt Reroma.
Francis Abarcar and six-foot-five Giden Babilonia, son of the late former Philippine Basketball Association player Gido Babilonia, led the Red Cubs in a fiery third quarter where they outscored the Greenies, 22-14.
Abarcar who finished with 18 points, nine in the fourth including a trey with only 2:38 left, was named Most Valuable Player of the finals.
Overall, San Beda has the most basketball championships in the NCAA with 34—16 in the seniors and 19 in the juniors.
Daryl Nazareno added 10 points, Van Abatayo chipped in eight and Ranbill Tongco had seven for the Red Cubs.
Thomas Torres led the Greenies with 25 points, but none of his teammates scored in double digits, with Mario Bonleon scoring nine.
In another tight contest, the Red Cubs led by only four , 17-13, after the first quarter, and only three, 29-26, at the break. The Greenies shot better from the floor, 34 to 30 percent, but was surprisingly outrebounded by the smaller Red Cubs, 51-39.
The Red Cubs were likewise steadier from the line, making 29 of 40 attempts for 73 percent, while the Greenies missed 1`1 of 27 tries for a paltry 59 percent.
In Photo: San Beda snares its 19th juniors title at the expense of La Salle Greenhills. (Nonoy Lacza)
