Red Lions crush Stags, force KO for No. 1

MANILA, Philippines—Relentless on both ends of the floor, San Beda overwhelmed San Sebastian, 91-70, Wednesday to force a playoff for the top seed heading into the Final Four of the 87th NCAA basketball tournament before a sellout crowd at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Aching to avenge their 68-70 first-round loss that snapped a 26-game winning streak, the Lions attacked without letup and gave the Stags little room to breathe in fashioning out the wire-to-wire victory that put them level with San Sebastian at 16-2 at the end of the double-round elimination.

The two teams meet again tomorrow to determine the top seed in the Final Four, after the league clarified that a playoff—not the quotient system—is needed to break the tie for No. 1.

The top seed in the Final Four owns a twice-to-beat advantage against No. 4 squad Jose Rizal U, while the No. 2 team slugs it out against No. 3 Letran also armed with the same edge.

“We were more aggressive,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim of his Lions, who led by as many as 23 points in the second half.

“More than the technical side of it, we played with a lot of pride, a lot of heart. We owe it to our supporters to play this way and we haven’t beaten San Sebastian this year.”

Earlier, San Beda’s Red Cubs completed an 18-game elimination-round sweep of the juniors division and also earn a thrice-to-beat edge in the finals with a 76-68 walloping of San Sebastian.

Francis Abarcar and Daryl Nepomuceno hit 14 and 10 points respectively for the Red Cubs, who are looking for a record 19th juniors title this season.

Garvo Lanete stood at the forefront of San Beda’s strong start, before Anthony Semerad took over with his outside shooting in the second half as the Lions displayed sharp form to frustrate the Stags.

Lanete fired 15 of his 17 points in the first two quarters, while Semerad drilled in 10 in a bristling 17-5 run to boost the Lions to a 23-point lead with a minute left in the third period.

Dave Marcelo and Jake Pascual also starred for the Lions with 10 points each and a combined 17 rebounds, even as rookie Baser Amer delivered an all-around game of six points, five assists and two steals.

The Lions kept Stags hotshot Ronald Pascual out of his comfort zone, holding him to just eight points on two three-point field goals that came in the first two minutes of the game.

Calvin Abueva finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight turnovers, but like Pascual, he was rested in the final period with San Beda already in total command.

Missing majority of the season because of injury, Semerad has made up for lost time in the past two games.

With San Sebastian applying the zone in a bid to slow down San Beda, Semerad knocked in back-to-back treys to push the advantage, 59-41, with 4:50 left in the third.

The Filipino-Australian forward buried another baseline jumper to stake the Lions to their biggest lead, 68-45.

“Anthony did not play much early this season so I had difficulty with my rotation especially when teams zoned us,” said Lim. “He was a big factor today.”

The scores
First Game (Jrs)
SAN BEDA 96—Abarcar 14, Nazareno 10, Bonsubre 9, Dela Costa 9, Lunas 8, Tolentino 8, Patenio 7, Munsayac 6, Tongco 6, Miranda 5, Abatayo 4, Macapayag 4, Oleodo 2, Babilonia 2, Tee 2.
SAN SEBASTIAN 68—Macasaet 15, Balid 15, Pante 15, Castor 6, Gayosa 5, Calisaan 4, Costelo 4, Rivera 3, Magno 1, Escalambre 0, Dyke 0, Miasco 0, Parina 0, Velasco 0, Libunao 0.
Quarters: 22-15, 45-31, 74-43, 96-68
Second Game (Srs)
SAN BEDA 91—Lanete 17, A. Semerad 13, J. Pascual 10, Marcelo 10, Dela Rosa 9, Lim 8, Amer 6, Caram 6, Sorela 5, K. Pascual 4, D. Semerad 3, Koga 0, Pontejos 0, Villahermosa 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 70—Abueva 20, Sangalang 13, Pascual 8, Miranda 6, Ferrer 6, Maiquez 6, Balucanag 4, Dela Cruz 4, Vitug 3, Grilli 0, Antipuesto 0, Del Rio 0.
Quarters: 29-18, 45-35, 68-47, 91-70