MANILA, Philippines—St. Benilde-La Salle GreenHills looks to continue its stirring run in the NCAA juniors tournament Monday when it tangles with defending champion San Beda at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Greenies, who erased the Red Cubs’ one-game edge with an 85-82 win last Monday, hope to finally take the lead in the finals series that has now been reduced to a race-to-two affair.
Gametime is 2 p.m. with the Red Cubs also expected to pull out all the stops to recover their sizzling form that saw them complete an 18-game sweep of the elimination round.
As incentive for sweeping the elimination-round, the Red Cubs gained an outright finals seat as well as a 1-0 lead in a best-of-five series.
They no longer have that advantage now after a strong fourth-quarter performance boosted the Greenies to victory in the series opener.
The Greenies pose match-up problems for the Red Cubs because of their size. And in Game 1, San Beda coach Britt Reroma’s concerns proved true when Andre Paras struck in the final period.
“Our goal was to win the game, hoping it might change the complexion of the series,” said Greenies coach John Flores. “I hope the win gives us the momentum we would need for the next game.”
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.
Aside from Paras, the Greenies are also pinning their hopes on Jon Villaruz and Thomas Torres.
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.