San Beda moved to a victory away from its seventh straight NCAA juniors championship after a 76-68 victory over Arellano in game one of the Finals Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.
The Red Cubs, who wield a thrice-to-beat incentive for sweeping the elimination round, turned to their uptempo play to negate the Braves’ height advantage.
“We really pushed the tempo because that’s really our style. We won the whole two rounds because of that,” said San Beda head coach JV Sison.
“They are really taller than us. But somehow, they were the one who adjusted to us because of the pace of the game.”
Evan Nells led the Red Cubs with 16 points, all but four coming from beyond the arc, while Alberto Bordeus added 12 points.
Guilmer Dela Torre finished with a monster statline of 22 points and 18 rebounds in a losing effort for the Braves.