Sweep 16 for San Beda
MANILA—Needing its strongest play of the season, San Beda stood up and delivered.
Sudan Daniel and Garvo Lanete fired 23 points each as the Lions devoured San Sebastian’s defending champion Stags, 90-82, Wednesday to complete a historic 16-game sweep of the elimination round and clinch an automatic finals berth in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. The Lions proved tough and tenacious—two things they ran short of when they got swept by the Stags in last year’s finals—in dominating the reigning champs for the second straight time.
More importantly, San Beda gained a thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals series, which is an equivalent to an outright 1-0 lead in a best-of-five championship series. “The bottomline is to win the championship,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. “The sweep is great. I’m happy to be part of it. But the championship will make this achievement sweeter.” The Lions dropped an 11-0 blitz during a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter after the Stags sliced their 12-point third quarter advantage to two at 66-68 with 7:55 remaining. Daniel, who also grabbed 11 rebounds and had five blocks, scored five straight points in the run, before Lanete buried an off-balanced jumper for a 79-68 cushion heading into the last 3:38. Lim dedicated the win to San Beda students who got hurt in the blast that marred the final day of the bar examinations in Manila last Sunday. “We’re dedicating this win to our fellow San Beda students who got hurt in that useless incident,” said Lim.
San Sebastian was relegated to the stepladder semifinals, where the Stags will dispute the other finals berth with the survivor of the match pitting Jose Rizal and Mapua. The Bombers gave the Cardinals a glimpse of their strength earlier with a 68-54 trouncing to finish with a 12-4 record. Nate Matute buried 20 points, including four triples, and Marvin Hayes contributed 12 points for the Bombers, who held the Cardinals scoreless in the first seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. “Our confidence level is high heading into the semifinals,” said JRU’s rookie coach Vergel Meneses. The Stags missed key players for the fourth straight game with starting forward Ronald Pascual still recovering from dengue fever and backup point guard Raymund Maconocido getting the boot from coach Ato Agustin because of an “attitude problem.” But the Stags, with Pamboy Raymundo pouring a career-high 29 points, put up a better fight compared to their 88-76 loss in the first round last Aug. 18. They led, 23-16, in the second quarter, but with Calvin Abueva, bottled up by the San Beda defense and hobbled by fouls, the Stags ran out of firepower during a crucial stretch in the third quarter, allowing the Lions to grab a double-digit lead. The Stags threatened for the last time at 85-78 with 1:44 left, after Abueva, returning after a long rest, shot five straight points.
Lanete sealed the outcome with four charities in the last 1:20 and Daniel had the San Beda crowd roaring in approval when he swatted away Gilbert Bulawan’s layup in the dwindling seconds. But Agustin saw a lot of positives despite the defeat. “I’m happy with the way we played. We had a great start, but we lacked the manpower,” said Agustin. Now, the Stags will go the long route to retain the crown they won last year, where they piled up a 15-game winning run in the elimination round.
San Sebastian will face the winner of the Jose Rizal-Mapua match no longer armed with the twice-to-beat incentive it earlier clinched by landing the No. 2 spot. The Stags will need to win that one-game playoff to make it to earn a shot at defending their crown. And even if they make it to the finals, their job gets tougher. San Sebastian needs to win three games to defend their crown while San Beda will only need to win twice to claim the championship. Photo by Mark Giongco The scores:
First Game
JOSE RIZAL 68—Matute 20, Hayes 12, Njei 10, Bulangis 8, Apinan 6, Lopez 4, Almario 4, Montemayor 2, Dizon 2, Etame 0, Kabigting 0, Badua 0, Duncil 0, M. Lopez 0
MAPUA 54—Banal 12, Guillermo 11, Mangahas 10, Acosta 6, Pascual 5, Sarangay 4, Maniego 4, Cabrera 2, Ighalo 0, Parala 0, Ranises 0
Quarters: 11-20, 31-31, 51-48, 68-54
Second Game
SAN BEDA 90—Lanete 23, Daniel 23, Hermida 18, J. Pascual 7, Marcelo 7, Caram 6, Dela Rosa 4, Semerad 2, K. Pascual 0, Mendoza 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 82—Raymundo 29, Abueva 17, Semira 11, Bulawan 10, del Rio 7, Sangalang 6, Gorospe 2, Gatchalina 0, Najorda 0, Maiquez 0
Quarters: 15-15, 39-30, 66-60, 90-82
Sudan Daniel and Garvo Lanete fired 23 points each as the Lions devoured San Sebastian’s defending champion Stags, 90-82, Wednesday to complete a historic 16-game sweep of the elimination round and clinch an automatic finals berth in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. The Lions proved tough and tenacious—two things they ran short of when they got swept by the Stags in last year’s finals—in dominating the reigning champs for the second straight time.
More importantly, San Beda gained a thrice-to-beat advantage in the finals series, which is an equivalent to an outright 1-0 lead in a best-of-five championship series. “The bottomline is to win the championship,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. “The sweep is great. I’m happy to be part of it. But the championship will make this achievement sweeter.” The Lions dropped an 11-0 blitz during a four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter after the Stags sliced their 12-point third quarter advantage to two at 66-68 with 7:55 remaining. Daniel, who also grabbed 11 rebounds and had five blocks, scored five straight points in the run, before Lanete buried an off-balanced jumper for a 79-68 cushion heading into the last 3:38. Lim dedicated the win to San Beda students who got hurt in the blast that marred the final day of the bar examinations in Manila last Sunday. “We’re dedicating this win to our fellow San Beda students who got hurt in that useless incident,” said Lim.
San Sebastian was relegated to the stepladder semifinals, where the Stags will dispute the other finals berth with the survivor of the match pitting Jose Rizal and Mapua. The Bombers gave the Cardinals a glimpse of their strength earlier with a 68-54 trouncing to finish with a 12-4 record. Nate Matute buried 20 points, including four triples, and Marvin Hayes contributed 12 points for the Bombers, who held the Cardinals scoreless in the first seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter. “Our confidence level is high heading into the semifinals,” said JRU’s rookie coach Vergel Meneses. The Stags missed key players for the fourth straight game with starting forward Ronald Pascual still recovering from dengue fever and backup point guard Raymund Maconocido getting the boot from coach Ato Agustin because of an “attitude problem.” But the Stags, with Pamboy Raymundo pouring a career-high 29 points, put up a better fight compared to their 88-76 loss in the first round last Aug. 18. They led, 23-16, in the second quarter, but with Calvin Abueva, bottled up by the San Beda defense and hobbled by fouls, the Stags ran out of firepower during a crucial stretch in the third quarter, allowing the Lions to grab a double-digit lead. The Stags threatened for the last time at 85-78 with 1:44 left, after Abueva, returning after a long rest, shot five straight points.
Lanete sealed the outcome with four charities in the last 1:20 and Daniel had the San Beda crowd roaring in approval when he swatted away Gilbert Bulawan’s layup in the dwindling seconds. But Agustin saw a lot of positives despite the defeat. “I’m happy with the way we played. We had a great start, but we lacked the manpower,” said Agustin. Now, the Stags will go the long route to retain the crown they won last year, where they piled up a 15-game winning run in the elimination round.
San Sebastian will face the winner of the Jose Rizal-Mapua match no longer armed with the twice-to-beat incentive it earlier clinched by landing the No. 2 spot. The Stags will need to win that one-game playoff to make it to earn a shot at defending their crown. And even if they make it to the finals, their job gets tougher. San Sebastian needs to win three games to defend their crown while San Beda will only need to win twice to claim the championship. Photo by Mark Giongco The scores:
First Game
JOSE RIZAL 68—Matute 20, Hayes 12, Njei 10, Bulangis 8, Apinan 6, Lopez 4, Almario 4, Montemayor 2, Dizon 2, Etame 0, Kabigting 0, Badua 0, Duncil 0, M. Lopez 0
MAPUA 54—Banal 12, Guillermo 11, Mangahas 10, Acosta 6, Pascual 5, Sarangay 4, Maniego 4, Cabrera 2, Ighalo 0, Parala 0, Ranises 0
Quarters: 11-20, 31-31, 51-48, 68-54
Second Game
SAN BEDA 90—Lanete 23, Daniel 23, Hermida 18, J. Pascual 7, Marcelo 7, Caram 6, Dela Rosa 4, Semerad 2, K. Pascual 0, Mendoza 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 82—Raymundo 29, Abueva 17, Semira 11, Bulawan 10, del Rio 7, Sangalang 6, Gorospe 2, Gatchalina 0, Najorda 0, Maiquez 0
Quarters: 15-15, 39-30, 66-60, 90-82
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