MANILA—San Sebastian coach Ato Agustin’s playful demeanor masked the impact of his statement Friday night.
“We’re not afraid of San Beda,” Agustin said after the defending champion Stags trounced Jose Rizal U, 61-52, to set up a championship duel with the unbeaten Lions in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament starting Wednesday.
Agustin and his Stags have been dominated by coach Frankie Lim and the Lions twice in the elimination round.
But Agustin believes the finals, despite the tough odds facing the Stags, will pan out differently for SSC.
“We’re ready for the games that will truly matter,” said Agustin, who will leave the Stags after the season to take over the coaching reins at San Miguel in the PBA.
While the Stags have sputtered at times, the Lions have been a cut above the rest, underscoring their dominance with a 16-game sweep of the elimination round that handed them a thrice to beat edge in the title playoffs.
Agustin said he always believed that the road to back-to-back championships would lead them back to San Beda, which has flaunted a bigger, meaner and tougher lineup this season.
“Right from the start, we knew San Beda would be there to challenge us,” said Agustin.
“The pressure is really on us, unlike last year when we were not considered favorites.”
Meanwhile, the Stags’ main man Calvin Abueva and Lions’ center Sudan Daniel are locked in a tight race for the Most Valuable Player plum.
Playing in their second season in the league, the 6-foot-2 Pampanga-born Abueva and the 6-foot-7 Daniel from Compton, California are both seeking their first MVP award.
Daniel leads the league in blocks with 4.4 a game and is second in rebounds with 11.4 while averaging 10.9 points and nearly an assist and a steal an outing.
Abueva tops in rebounds with 12.6 while running third in scoring with 16.3 points. He is averaging 1.6 assists, a steal and a shot block.
The MVP award will be handed out before Game 1 of the juniors finals on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
A tight race also looms in the juniors’ MVP derby with San Beda’s Baser Amer and San Sebastian’s Gino Jumao-as emerging as the top two bets.
Baser posted averages of 15.6 points, 8.3 boards, a league high 11.7 assists and 2.4 steals while Jumao-as normed 23.1 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.2 shot blocks.
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