MANILA, Philippines—With its size, San Beda coach Britt Reroma knew St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills would be a match-up problem for the defending champion Red Cubs.
His worst fears proved true when the Greenies stunned the Cubs, 85-82, Monday at the start of the NCAA juniors finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The win couldn’t have come at a better time for the Greenies, who are now on equal footing with the Cubs in what is now reduced to a race-to-three affair for the title.
The Cubs won all of their 18 games in the elimination round to clinch an outright berth to the finals, where they were also given a thrice-to-beat edge as a bonus for the sweep.
“Our goal was to win the game, hoping it might change the complexion of the series,” said Greenies coach John Flores.
The Greenies are now two wins away from completing what could be a remarkable rise from the No. 3 position at the end of the elimination round.
They eliminated Emilio Aguinaldo College at the start of the stepladder phase, before knocking out the Letran Squires to advance to the finals for the first time since returning to the league in 1998.
Andre Paras, the 6-foot-3 son of two-time PBA Most Vauable Player Benjie Paras, shone for the Greenies in Game 1, hitting 11 of his 13 points, including a three-point play for an 84-82 with 1:04 remaining.
“We were very resilient,” Flores said.
Jon Villaruz paced the Greenies with 22 points, while Thomas Torres dished out an all-around game of 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.