Fernandez rues little things as San Beda left without twice-to-beat

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez rued the little things that went wrong in San Beda’s 107-105 loss to Lyceum in double overtime in its last game in the NCAA Season 93 elimination round.

Only a free throw separated victory and defeat for the Red Lions, who missed out of a chance thwart the Pirates’ historic sweep bid and keep the regular Final Four format.

“We have a good chance of winning that game but in the end, it just boiled down to one free throw,” he said, citing Robert Bolick’s split from the free throw line in the last 1.5 seconds of the first overtime period which could have decided the game.

“It boiled down to easy layups, misses, and they got defensive rebounds, and then we fouled. It’s just little things that hopefully we can learn and look forward for the next round.”

The Pirates completed the record-setting 18-0 finish while snapping defending champions’ 15-game winning streak and forcing them to play in the stepladder semifinals without a twice-to-beat advantage despite their no. 2 record.

Still, the multi-titled mentor was glad with how the Red Lions fought against the Pirates, noting that hope is still not lost in their title retention quest despite missing out on the Final 4 bonus.

“We nearly won the game but we didn’t finish it. I just told the players that even though we lost this game, we still have another chance of getting into the Finals,” he said. “We just lost twice-to-beat advantage (because of the stepladder semis). We’re just on a bye and waiting for a knockout match. We just made life hard for us, but at least we showed that we can beat Lyceum.”

But Fernandez warned San Beda that as much as the players want to get back at Lyceum in the big stage, it has to focus on the task at hand which is the stepladder semifinals.

“Our main goal right now is not to look for LPU. Our focus is on the semifinals and who we’re gonna play next because until now, we still don’t who are opponent is in the stepladder,” he said. “Let’s forget LPU first. Let’s manage that semifinals win. Right now, we’re staying focused on what we have to do and focus on the next game.”