ONCE A PERMANENT fixture of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) finals from 2006 to 2019, the San Beda Red Lions have returned to the NCAA finals after four years out of action, sweeping the second-seeded Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) Pirates in the semi-finals.
Coming into the series, the Pirates held a twice-to-beat advantage over the Red Lions by virtue of finishing second in the team standings during the elimination round, meaning that the Red Lions had to beat them twice in order to advance to the finals.
Game 1
A dominant game 1 performance from the Red Lions kept the Pirates’ finals hopes at bay, 89-68, last November 28 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
At tipoff, the Red Lions immediately went to work, with the first basket coming from Clifford Jopia after a Jacob Cortez dime. Both teams went back-and-forth, with San Beda a foot ahead at every step. At the end of the first frame, San Beda was up by six points, 22-16.
In the second quarter, the Mendiola-based squad continued steamrolling the Pirates as the team stretched its lead to double figures in the opening minutes as back-to-back threes from Cortez and Jomel Puno, extending their lead by 14, 34-20.
14 was the magic number for the Red Lions as they barely let the Pirates trim down the lead going into the half, 52-38.
At the start of the second half, LPU attempted to sail their way to victory, opening the third quarter with a six-to-nothing run to trim the lead down to eight, 52-44.
Following a timeout, Cortez immediately made his presence felt, scoring five quick points to regain their double-digit lead back to 13, 57-44, a lead which they kept till the end of the third quarter, 73-60.
The final frame began to the tune of the Indian Yell as any and all attempts of the Pirates to come back was answered by the Red Lions in kind as a dunk from Jopia ends the Pirates’ blowout 89-68.
Jacob Cortez was too much for the Pirates scoring a career-high 28 points all while shooting 81% from the field to keep the Pirates’ finals hopes at bay. Along with Cortez were Nygel Gonzales and Yukien Andrada contributed 12 points apiece with timely shots from beyond the arc to sink any hopes of the Pirates’ late-game comeback.
Game 2
The Red Lions fought hard in the second game of the semis against the LPU Pirates, sending them home with an 82-72 victory last December 1 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With LPU’s defense keying in on Cortez, James Payosing took over with a double-double performance 18 points and 10 boards. Along Payosing was Puno also who also had his own double-double of 15 points and 10 boards all while knocking down all five of his field-goal attempts.
Other Red Lions also contributed to the offense such as Gonzales, Andrada, and Damie Cuntapay making timely triples to pull away from the Pirates who were slowly gaining on them in the third frame.
Even when held to only seven points, Cortez had his first basket where he was needed most as he helped contribute to a 12-0 run in the third to pull away from a 51-51 deadlock.
After the game, Puno highlighted the importance of playing with strategy and hustle – saying that the team played “smart but aggressive”.
Bound for his first final’s appearance in the NCAA, Coach Yuri Escueta commends the LPU Pirates for their performance during the season.
“They were zoning and manning Jacob,” Coach Yuri shared, however, such tactic only led to other Red Lions shining in the game. And when the Pirates were slowly gaining on them Coach Yuri said “Pinasok ko si Nygel [Gonzales],” who immediately made an impact scoring two straight triples and starting the Red Lions’ 12-0 run in the third.
Coming into the finals Coach Yuri shared that, “pang-sixth na do-or-die na namin ‘to e, mula nung natalo kami sa Mapua,” emphasizing that even coming into the finals, they plan to take it one game at a time.
The Red Lions will now face the Mapua University (MU) Cardinals in a best of three series to determine the champion of NCAA Season 99 starting December 6, 2 p.m. at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
(with Lawrence Rosales)