INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines?Greatness delivered.

San Beda College extended its reign in the NCAA men?s basketball tournament to a third year with a convincing 85-69 triumph over Jose Rizal University Monday in the rubber match of their best-of-three championship series at the jam-packed Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Red Lions played with precision and poise?missing for the better part of the first two games?in the decider and San Beda ran away with a 14th crown overall before a crowd of 20,360, an NCAA attendance record this season.

?I knew this team will reach its full potential in time,? said San Beda coach Frankie Lim after the Lions validated pre-tournament predictions that had installed them as top favorites.

?I never questioned their greatness. We struggled this season and had a difficult time getting to the finals, so winning this one is sweeter than last year.?

The Lions registered their second ?three-peat? since their 1934-1936 feat and the second in the league in 12 years after San Sebastian College did the trick from 1994 to 1996.

Before the game, the Philippine Basketball League reversed its decision to pull out its referees from the rubber match, following an appeal from the NCAA management committee.

A remarkable display of firepower turned the expectedly close winner-take-all match into an anti-climactic ending as five Lions, led by finals Most Valuable Player Sam Ekwe, scored in double-figures.

The Bombers clung, grabbed and played good defense on Ekwe who still got away with 21 points. The 6-foot-8 Nigerian, also the season MVP, also had 19 rebounds, highlighted by a sequence where he tapped the ball thrice before collaring the ball with authority against four JRU players. He also had four blocks.

The Bombers turned from helpless to hopeless as Ogie Menor shook off a bad fall three minutes into the game to pump in 18 points, Jake Pascual came off the bench to make 13 and Pong Escobal steadily orchestrated the Lions? offense while pouring 11 points.

Whatever the reason, Ekwe?s turnaround was welcome and well-timed. After fouling out in the second game, which JRU won to forge the rubber match, Ekwe, this time, did most of his work in the first half when San Beda took the lead for good at 38-29.

The Lions used a couple of 7-2 spurts to seize control in the first period. They led, 30-15, on an Ekwe jumper but the Bombers closed out the first half by outscoring the Lions, 14-9, capped by Jayson Nocom?s triple.

Led by Menor, San Beda scored 21 of the first 31 points of the second half to take a 59-40 advantage.

The Bombers only got to as close as 11 at 59-70, with seven minutes left, before Borgie Hermida nailed a triple with the shot clock winding down and Pascual finished off an alley-oop play from Escobal to virtually seal the outcome, 75-59, with 5:09 left.
The Lions, who finished the season with 14 wins and five setbacks, again dominated the boards, 53-32, which they translated to 14 fastbreak points and 17 second chance points.

?It boiled down to execution,? said Lim, whose team started and ended the season with double-digit winning margins.

?We played aggressively and started strong. We brought the war to them. It looked easy but it wasn?t very easy. We made good decisions. We saw a tired JRU team with a lot of frustrations.?

Escobal, the Lions skipper, who also dished out nine assists in the last game of his collegiate career, added: ?JRU was playing as tough so we made them pay by getting everyone in the team involved.?

Bombers coach Ariel Vanguardia conceded defeat, saying the Lions? championship experience spelled the difference in the finals.

?They?ve (Lions) been there, they?ve done that,? Vanguardia said. ?They know how to play the game on and off the court. That, we have to learn. We have nothing to be ashamed off. We?ve gone this far.?

The Scores:

SAN BEDA 85?Ekwe 21, Menor 18, Pascual 13, Escobal 11, Hermida 10, Tecson 6, Taganas 4, Gamalinda 2, Marcelo 0, Tirona 0.

JRU 69?Sena 24, Cagoco 16, Njei 8, Nocom 7, Bulangis 3, Wilson 3, Pradas 3, Hayes 2, Kabigting 2, Agas 1.

Quarters: 24-12; 38-29; 64-48; 85-69