RSS Feed
Twitter
The San Beda Red Lions and their head coach Frankie Lim rose above the threat of NCAA sanctions and pounded the new-look Arellano University Chiefs with a dominant 89-66 showing to clinch their third-straight Fr. Martin Collegiate Open Cup title Saturday at the Trinity University gym.
A close first quarter saw the Red Lions edge ahead, 20-17, but three-pointers kept the Chiefs in the thick of things early in the second period, as AJ Serjue knocked one in, followed by twin long bombs by point guard Rocky Acidre.
Off a timeout by newly-installed Arellano mentor Koy Banal, Ralph Salcedo canned a baseline jumper that gave the Chiefs a 30-29 lead, but the reigning NCAA champs countered with a 13-0 blast that included two goaltending violations by the Legarda-based quintet.
Staring at a 42-30 deficit, the Chiefs turned to former JRU Light Bomber Keith Agovida to trigger a rally, and the player who once scored 82 points during his juniors division career, dropped five straight, making the score more manageable, 42-35.
Agovida's teammates, however, failed to capitalize on the momentum shift and let the Red Lions score the final four points of the half to give San Beda a 46-35 spread at the turn.
The quick break did nothing to slow the Red Lions down. A 9-5 run at the onset of the period had it at 55-38, as Melo Lim three-pointer and Jake Pascual move down low kept San Beda in the driver's seat.
Pascual, who was part of the Philippine team in last year's South East Asian Games, scored 11 of his team-best 20 in the third, including a huge triple right before the buzzer to end the quarter for a 71-53 San Beda advantage with a quarter left.
After a Nard Pinto jumper opened Arellano's scoring in the final quarter, San Beda effectively put the game away with a 7-0 spurt.
Missed three-pointers and a few turnovers did not do the Chiefs’ cause any good as San Beda enjoyed a 78-55 lead with about seven minutes left, and the only thing remaining for the Red Lions was to wait out the final margin of victory.
Filipino-American Julius Armon added 16 markers, out-dueling his Fil-foreigner counterparts on the other side, while veteran Rome Dela Rosa chipped in 14.
Serjue, himself a Fil-Canadian, led Arellano with 11 points. Another rookie, Fil-Am James Forrester added 10, as the two were the only Chiefs in double figures.
It was apt revenge for San Beda, who lost 61-59 to the Chiefs in the elimination round of the tournament.
Fans of the Red Lions trooped to the Trinity University in droves, many wearing shirts with slogans like "We support Coach Frankie!" and "Hey Coach! We've got your back!"
The NCAA Policy Board reportedly issued a two-year suspension to Lim, one-year suspensions to Armon and Ola Adeogun, and one-game bans to a host of other Red Lion mainstays, as a result of a brawl that broke out last December at the San Beda Gym during a volleyball game.
The other faction in the brawl, the San Sebastian Stags, incurred a similar two-year suspension to volleyball coach Roger Gorayeb. The league will not announce the official charges as both schools will supposedly appeal the sanctions. — JVP, GMA News
Scores:
San Beda 89—J. Pascual 20, Armon 16, Dela Rosa 15, Adeogun 14, Amer 10, Lim 6, Caram 5, K. Pascual 3, Dela Cruz 0, Koga 0, Sorela 0, Ludovice 0.
Arellano 66—Serjue 11, Forrester 10, Acidre 9, Agovida 9, Pinto 8, Salcedo 6, Zulueta 6, Malanday 3, Holts 2, Okpe 2, Bangga 0, Fernandez 0, Cruz 0
Quarter scores: 20-17, 46-35, 71-53, 89-66.
.jpg)
0 comments:
Post a Comment
DISCLAIMER: Views expressed in the comment section are those of the readers. Sport Pilipinas may not be held liable for the views of readers exercising their right to free expression.