Lions, Pirates eye to arrange finals showdown anew
SAN Beda University and Lyceum of the Philippines University are aiming to arrange another finals showdown when they take on University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Colegio de San Juan de Letran, respectively, in the Final Four of Season 94 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors basketball today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Top seed San Beda takes on Perpetual Help at 4 p.m. after the 1:30 p.m. collision between second seed Lyceum and Letran. The Red Lions and the Pirates are both holding a twice-to-beat advantage against the Altas and the Knights.
Defending champion San Beda finished the eliminations with an 11-game winning streak and swept the second round for a 17-1 record. The feat was capped by an 80-72 beating of Perpetual Help on Tuesday.
The Lions are poised to race straight to their 13th finals appearance after beating the Altas, 67-65, in the first round.
“We know we’re facing a very good team in the semis. We just have to be ready,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez, who will bank anew on the talents of veterans Robert Bolick, Javee Mocon and Donald Tankoua.
Perpetual Help seasoned mentor Frankie Lim, on the other hand, said that it is a given that San Beda is the better team and that defense is the key to score an upset.
“I find San Beda a very strong team. We can’t match-up with them man-for-man,” said Lim, who once led San Beda to four titles. “There are just so many mismatches. We just have to work on our defense.”
Lim, whose Altas ended up at No. 4 with an 11-7 slate, is pinning his hopes on Nigerian center Prince Eze along with other key players AJ Coronel, Edgar Charcos and Kim Aurin.
Meanwhile, Lyceum tactician Topex Robinson is bracing his wards for a tough battle against Letran.
The Pirates (15-3) and the Knights (13-5) split their elimination encounters, with the former prevailing 87-82 in the first round and the latter winning 80-79 in the second round.
“It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be tough,” stressed Robinson. “We have two opportunities to be in the finals. That’s what we’re looking forward to right now.”
Robinson will lean on reigning MVP CJ Perez, Mike Nzeusseu, Jesper Ayaay and the Marcelino twins Jaycee and Jayvee as the Pirates look to sail to the championship series anew.
But getting in Lyceum’s way to the finals is coach Jeff Napa’s hungry Letran that is bent on forcing a do- or- die match on Monday.
“It’s up to Lyceum to think about what we’re going to do. For us, we’ll take care of ourselves. We will go all out to give them a good fight,” said Napa, who led the Knights to the Final Four for the first time since winning the championship in 2015.
Napa will rely on graduating players Bong Quinto and JP Calvo to lead Letran’s onslaught along with Lary Muyang, Jeremiah Taladua and Christian Fajarito.
Meanwhile, in the juniors semifinals, defending titlist La Salle Greenhills and Mapua High School want to book a finals rematch when they battle Jose Rizal High School and San Beda High School at 10 a.m., respectively.