San Beda coach Jamike Jarin
As the elimination round of the NCAA Season 91 nears its end with six teams fighting for a spot in the final four, every win matters.
San Beda was looking to lock a final four berth against a reeling Arellano, which is coming off two heartbreaking losses.
Then the Chiefs delivered a 91-72 stunner.
READ: Arellano sweeps San Beda in NCAA elims, gains 3rd place tie
San Beda found itself down to second seed with a 12-5 record while Arellano created a three-way jam at third with Jose Rizal University and Perpetual Help with identical 11-6 records.
“We were outworked and outran, they outplayed us,” Red Lions head coach Jamike Jarin said Thursday at San Juan Arena. “I did a bad job personally, I take all the blame.”
Arellano swept San Beda in the elimination round in a battle of last year’s finalists as the Chiefs nipped the Red Lions 88-84 in the first round.
Only two players finished in double-figures in scoring for the Red Lions with Ola Adeogun and Art De La Cruz finishing with 17 and 10 points, respectively.
It was an offensive drought for San Beda which shot 29-of-72 from the field and never found a solution to the Chiefs’ press.
Still, Jarin said they have to look on the positive as they look forward to the final game of their season.
“We need to learn on this,” Jarin said. “Of course we feel bad but we don’t have to dwell on this.”
De La Cruz, who turned the ball over seven times, put it simply: “we didn’t match their intensity.”
“We started flat,” De La Cruz said. “They really prepared for us, the coaching staff prepared us but we couldn’t deliver.”
“It was a bad game for us.”