San Beda and Folayang

San Beda defeated Lyceum on Friday for three reasons. One, San Beda has a champion coach in Boyet Fernandez. Two, San Beda has Donald Tankoua. And three, San Beda has Rob Bolick.

Tankoua is the African that fired 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as well. Is he a human armored tank?

Bolick had 24 points, decorating that with 9 of his team’s last 11 points that included a banked three and three free throws in a 6-point explosion for Beda’s irreversible 91-82 bulge.

San Beda’s 94-87 win snapped Lyceum’s 18-game winning streak as the Lions moved a game away from retaining their NCAA crown. Game 2 is on Thursday.

And why did Lyceum lose a 12-point, third-quarter margin?

I’d say it was also Lyceum coach Topex Robinson’s own undoing.

“San Beda has championship class,” Robinson told his Pirates before the game. Why praise your foes? If that’s not counter-productive, what is?

Robinson should learn from Fernandez. Said Fernandez: “Lyceum’s heart is big, but the hearts of my players are big as well.” Motivation, boy, motivation.

ONE FC. Eduard Folayang of Baguio City lost to a much-superior fighter on Friday night.

He got knocked out by Martin Nguyen, the Australian-born Vietnamese equipped with a worldclass arsenal.

Nguyen knew when to attack. His defense was near-flawless. His game plan was airtight.

In contrast, Folayang was a bit tentative. Early on, his assault wasn’t solid. This would go on unchecked going into the second round.

So that in one badly-cho- reographed, if not thoroughly careless spin-move, kick-blast by Folayang that naturally missed its target, that totally exposed his face to utter annihilation.

Just one bomb of a right to the cheek by Nguyen and Folayang instantly dropped like a chopped log. Motionless like a cadaver. Immobilized like a cardiac arrest victim.

The thundering knockout barely two minutes into the second round allowed Nguyen to capture Folayang’s lightweight title and add it to his featherweight crown.

Every defeat is hard to take. But for Folayang, he should be able to recover from it—fast.

I like what he said before the bout: “In every fight, I take risks. I face risks to make me become a better fighter.”

And a better person, too, Eduard?

Robinson should learn from Fernandez. Said Fernandez: “Lyceum’s heart is big, but the hearts of my players are big as well.”