Red Lions, Stags eye NCAA Final berths

MANILA, Philippines—Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, San Beda and San Sebastian try to arrange a championship showdown when they slug it out with dangerous rivals Sunday in the Final Four of the 87th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil-Flying V Arena.

The top-seeded Lions face the streaking Jose Rizal U Bombers at 2 p.m., before the SSC Stags take on the third-seeded Letran Knights.

San Beda and JRU split their two elimination-round games with the Bombers stunning the Lions in the second round—a victory that sparked a six-game winning run that eventually boosted them to the Final Four.

But San Beda coach Frankie Lim vowed that the Bombers will be facing a far different team than the one they easily defeated, 76-65.

“It’s going to be different this time,” said Lim, noting that the Lions came from a 12-day break when they faced the Bombers the last time out. “We’ve been playing a very high-level basketball the past few games.”

The Lions, who seem to be peaking late in the season, go into the Final Four on the heels of back-to-back wins against San Sebastian and a comprehensive victory over Letran.

San Beda downed San Sebastian, 91-70, last Wednesday to force the playoff for No. 1 last Friday which the Lions also won, 88-85.

Garvo Lanete has taken over for the Lions at crunchtime the past few games, while Anthony Semerad, who is back from an injury, provides additional firepower from the perimeter.

Lim played down concerns that fatigue could take a toll on his team after playing three tough games in seven days.

“I’m pacing my players, it’s not a worry,” said Lim. “We just have to continue to be aggressive and to work on our strengths all the time.”

With leading Most Valuable Player contender Calvin Abueva at the helm, the Stags hope to come out strong against the Knights, after the back-to-back losses to San Beda.

“Letran is a good team, but we have some surprises coming up for them,” said San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson.

The Knights upended the Stags, 82-81, in overtime last Sept. 30 to avenge their loss in the first round.

Robinson said stopping guard Kevin Alas will be the key against the Lions.

Letran’s do-it-all guard drained the triple that lifted the Knights past the Stags in their second-round duel and ended San Sebastian’s 15-game win run.

“The losses against San Beda really prepared us for Letran,” said Robinson. “We would rather lose in the elimination round than lose in this stage of the tournament.”