NCAA title-clincher?
San Beda looks to close out Lyceum in Game Two today
THE defending champions San Beda Red Lions seek to finish the Lyceum Pirates when their bestof-three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) finals resumes today for Game Two at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Scheduled for 3: 30 p. m., the Lions, the second seeds entering the finals, shoot for the win anew and complete an “upset” of the erstwhile invincible Pirates for the top prize of Season 93.
Got solid contributions from foreign player Donald Tankoua all throughout Game One last Friday and veterans Robert Bolick and Javee Mocon down the stretch, San Beda stood toe-to-toe with Lyceum en route to dealing the latter its first defeat of the season, 94-87, while taking a step closer to their 10th title in 12 years and 21st all time.
The two teams had it nip-andtuck in the series opener with the outcome decided only in the closing moments.
Things were knotted at 64-all as the third canto came to a close before the protagonists buckled down for the sprint in the payoff quarter.
San Beda raced to a 77-76 lead with five minutes left in the game after which Mocon and Bolick started taking charge for the Lions as they swung to an 89- 82 separation with 55 ticks to go.
Lyceum tried to claw its way back behind Mike Nzeusseu and newly minted league most valuable player CJ Perez, who pulled their team to within four points, 91-87, with 20 seconds remaining.
But that was the closest they would get as San Beda hung on tight and held on for the win.
Tankoua had a double-double of 27 points and 20 rebounds while Bolick finished with 24 points.
Pro- bound Davon Potts had 15 points with Mocon tallying 11 points and nine boards.
Perez, meanwhile, led Lyceum with 25 points and eight boards while Nzeusseu had 14 points and eight rebounds.
“We’re happy we got this win. The boys really stepped up and showed how they wanted it bad,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez after their Game One win.
“But this is not yet over. We still need to win one more,” he was quick to add.
With their backs against the wall, Pirates coach Topex Robinson said they would try to learn from their mistakes in the opener and extend the series to a rubber match next week even as he owned up to their Game One loss.
“I take the blame for our Game One loss, It’s my fault as I made some bad decisions. The players played well. I could have done better though,” Mr. Robinson said.
“San Beda is a champion team and it showed in today’s game (Game One). This loss is not going to define us. What will define us as a team is how we are going to bounce back from this. We have to believe in ourselves,” added the coach, who led the Pirates to an unblemished 18- 0 record in the elimination round to book a direct pass to the finals.