INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines--It has gone virtually unnoticed with the way they dominated the season, but the San Beda Red Lions? return to the NCAA basketball finals this season was harder than it took the past three years.

With three vital cogs?former Most Valuable Player Sam Ekwe, Pong Escobal and Ogie Menor?no longer around this season plus the resurgence of San Sebastian, San Beda coach Frankie Lim needed a new band of heroes to surface to keep the Lions in the hunt for a rare four-peat and a 15th overall crown.

?I couldn?t ask for more from them,? said Lim after the Lions moved within two wins of achieving their goal by dumping Letran, 82-76, in their Final Four duel Monday. ?We lost Sam, Pong and Menor, but we are still back in the finals.?

While veterans like Bam Gamalinda, Jake Pascual and Borgie Hermida have delivered for Lim, the rookies made their mark with Sudan Daniel and Rome Dela Rosa, a recruit from California, providing offensive spunk during crucial stretches.

?The role players the past two years became starters this season and the rookies had to play major roles,? Lim said. ?But the veterans have improved and the rookies have showed their commitment to excellence.?

Particularly impressive is the 6-foot-2 Dela Rosa, who fired 17 points, 12 coming in the final period, in the victory over the Knights. He also helped limit the production of Letran star RJ Jazul in the final period.

Tipped to fill the void left by Ekwe, the 6-foot-8 Daniel has emerged as one of the contenders for the MVP plum, the award his Nigerian predecessor won twice in three years with the Lions.

But Lim still expects more from Daniel, a former teammate of highly touted NBA rookie Brandon Jennings at Compton Dominguez High School in California.

?I?m concerned about him because we haven?t drawn a perfect game from Su (Daniel),? Lim said. ?He is still learning the Philippine brand of basketball. But what?s good about him is he is willing to listen.?

San Beda bested San Sebastian twice last week to snatch the top spot.

The Lions await the winner of the rubber match between San Sebastian and Jose Rizal U on Monday. The best-of-three finals are set to start Thursday at the Araneta Coliseum.

?I don?t care who we?ll play next,? said Lim. ?What?s important is that we get enough rest and have enough legs in the finals.?