SAN Beda College staved off a stubborn Arellano University, 74-66, on Monday and moved to within a victory of snatching its fifth-straight National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors’ basketball crown at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena.
The Red Lions could become “five-peat” champions if they win anew in Game Two of the best-of-three championship series on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., also at the MOA Arena.
Utilizing the same tactic of fielding four big men with combo guard Baser Amer that worked wonders during their playoff for the No. 1 spot in the Final Four on October 10, San Beda zoomed to an 11-0 lead and extended it to 15, 26-11, after the first quarter.
The Chiefs, however, made the match more respectable by trimming their deficit to nine by the break, 40-31. It took them an entire period of exchanging baskets to finally make the right adjustments and make an 8-2 run early in the fourth to close in at 56-61.
But with Jiovani Jalalon fouling out when he found his groove, San Beda Head Coach Boyet Fernandez made another counter-adjustment, where big men Ola Adeogun and Arthur de la Cruz doused the fire and padded their lead to 13, 72-59, 1:10 left. Amer led San Beda with 17 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Adeogun chipped in 14 markers, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks, while Anthony Semerad added 14.
“We cannot beat them with speed because they are really quick, so we just have to match up with the bigs and hope they will not attack us on the fastbreak,” Fernandez said.
“I’m happy that I requested Ola [Adeogun] to sprint back on defense and he did that. Baser [Amer] also controlled the ballgame,” he added.
Agovida finished with a team-high 14 points and 17 rebounds, but contributed to Arellano University’s downfall by missing eight crucial free throws in the fourth quarter as part of the team’s 13 off-target shots on the foul line during the contest.
If the Red Lions win on Wednesday, they will match the “five-peat” feat pulled off by a Rommel Adducul-led San Sebastian squad from 1993 to 1997. It will also be San Beda’s eighth championship in nine seasons.
Mapua-Malayan High School of Science, meanwhile, upset five-time defending champion San Beda, 84-75, to move within a win of bagging the juniors title earlier on Monday.
Rookie center Warren Bonifacio had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Robins, who last won the junior crown in 2000.
Image credits: Alysa Salen