MANILA, Philippines — San Beda booked a return ticket to the finals of the NCAA season 89 men’s basketball tournament, pulling away in the fourth for a 70-51 win over Perpetual Help at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Main man Ola Adeogun came alive in the payoff period along with the Red Lions, whose 15-2 blast to start that quarter propelled them to drivers’ seat for good against the Altas.
With under three minutes to play, San Beda was up already by 18 and had left no doubt that it was returning to the finals to continue its “four-peat” quest.
The two teams still nearly came to blows, though, with Altas’ bench player John Ylagan getting thrown out and twins Anthony and David Semerad slapped with unsportsmanlike and technical fouls, respectively.
“We were ready for that [physicality]. It’s the playoffs and a do or die game for them, so they won’t give it easy,” Adeogun told reporters after the game.
The Nigerian center had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Red Lions, shrugging off early foul trouble.
Art Dela Cruz also had 11 markers along with 14 boards in joining Adeogun to lead San Beda in that 32-point fourth quarter explosion.
Adeogun and Dela Cruz are expected to take a huge role as they take on Raymond Almazan and Letran in what is expected to be a tighter finals match-up compared to last year.
Game one of the best-of-three finale starts on Monday at the same venue.
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