San Beda too much for Lyceum
IT’S been dubbed the battle between veterans and rookies. Boyet Fernandez has been a many-time champion coach of San Beda but Topex Robinson is just a rookie mentor of Lyceum.
San Beda has had 20 NCAA crowns before its title clash with crownless Lyceum started last week.
Title-wise, therefore, Fernandez and Robinson are worlds apart.
Common sense tells us that against this backdrop, Fernandez and his Lions are shoo-ins to derail their foes’ date with destiny. But, of course. And so it was that San Beda prevailed, in the process putting Lyceum in its proper place as a mere pretender. I saw it coming. After San Beda stopped Lyceum behind a masterful 9487 Game 1 victory in the best-of- three Finals, the Lions appeared a cinch to clinch their 11th crown in 13 seasons.
I knew it would come in Game 2.
For, while admittedly Lyceum bragged of a CJ Perez that had earlier emerged the league’s MVP, San Beda’s terrific trio of Donald Tankoua, Rob Bolick and pro-bound David Potts were simply too overpowering against the Lyceum Pirates.
Tankoua, the Finals MVP, had this game-long consistency to score and rebound (he averaged 22 points and 18.5 rebounds in the two championship games), while Potts and Bolick would come to life almost at the same time in the homestretch to inflict the big blows against the Pirates.
Bolick was particularly outstanding in both San Beda victories, stringing up the lethal shots, including yet his five-point burst in the stretch that keyed the Lions’ title-clinching 92-82 victory in Game 2.
Lyceum had the perfect record in the eliminations, yes, with their 18-0 sweep of the field. It was a ride of a lifetime for the Pirates seeking a first ever title since its NCAA debut in 2011.
But fairy tales are just that— fairy tales.
When the moment of truth stares one in the face, that’s when the tough gets going—and the past, no matter how glorious it might be, matters not much anymore.
OK, a rousing roar in that 18-game winning streak included Lyceum’s two-game sweep of San Beda—a fact that somehow put doubts on the Lions’ ability to retain their crown this year.
But sweeping the elims is one thing, and sweeping the Finals is another.
Which sweep is now sweeter between the two?