GAME MONDAY (Cuneta Astrodome)
2:30 p.m.—Mapua vs. San Beda
MANILA, Philippines—The San Beda College Red Lions, a team tipped to streamroll past the opposition for a third straight title, is teetering on the brink against the same squad that made them look like a done deal so early into the NCAA season.
But Lions coach Frankie Lim is undaunted.
“The players have realized that there will be no excuses this time and they have to work hard,” he said. “I know they have the heart to win.”
The Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals, which was dealt a deflating 29-point blowout loss by the Lions on opening-day, attempt to pull off an improbable turnaround when it takes on the two-time defending champions at 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City
The winner of Monday’s game will face Jose Rizal University in the best-of-three finals starting Wednesday. The Heavy Bombers nipped the Letran College Knights, 63-61, in the other Final Four showdown Friday.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this for the Red Lions. Not after they topped the elimination-phase and avoided all complications with an 11-3 slate.
The Cardinals were also given little chance to be in this position, after falling to 5-5 in the second round. But they gained the Final Four playoffs, where they tamed the San Sebastian College Stags, 63-54.
And playing their second sudden-death game in three days, the Cardinals frustrated the Lions with their slow, deliberate style for a 53-51 win Friday.
Nigerian slotman Sam Ekwe has been the center of attention for the Lions in a roller-coaster week that saw him reportedly get picked up by police for questioning on alleged game-fixing and get selected for the Most Valuable Player award for the second time.
Ekwe has been struggling lately scoring just four points in each of the Lions’ last two outings.
Mapua coach Leo Isaac believes the pressure is on the Lions, whom they beat, 53-48, in the second round.
“The pressure is on them now,” said Isaac, a former King Cardinal. “My players are confident.”
