SAN BEDA built enough cushion and weathered Arellano University’s spirited comeback to score an 89-70 rout and clinch the seniors basketball crown of the 90th National Collegiate Athletic Association via a two-game sweep of the Finals on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
It was the Red Lions’ 19th NCAA crown overall and fifth straight—matching San Sebastian’s five-peat from 1993-1997—as well as the eighth in the last nine seasons.
Anthony Semerad was a monster of a Red Lion in Game Three and finished with a career-high 30 points and six rebounds. He was named the Finals Most Valuable Player.
Kyle Pascual made his presence felt in winning his fifth straight title with San Beda and wound up with 16 points and eight rebounds. Nigerian center Ola Adeogun contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while Arthur de la Cruz had 12 markers and 10 caroms.
The Red Lions were unrelenting from the get-go and rushed to a 16-point lead, 37-21, behind Semerad’s four-of-seven shooting from long range in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Chiefs—behind Allen Enriquez, Keith Agovida and Ice Ciriacruz—tried to get into the game with a pressing defense and it momentarily worked wonders, as they cut their deficit to seven points, 37-44, 6:15 left in the third quarter.
But San Beda Head Coach Boyet Fernandez doused cold water on the Chiefs with his own brand of press.
“I’ve been watching Arellano play in the tapes and the only reason why they score is because of transition offense and turnover points. So we tried to really control the tempo of the ball game,” Fernandez said.
Agovida wound up his college career with 22 points and seven rebounds, while Ciriacruz added 15 points for the Chiefs.
Image credits: Alysa Salen