Vyn Radovan | FCF
San Beda College shot like there’s no tomorrow in the fourth quarter, scoring a catastrophic 33 points in the last ten minutes as the Red Lions drew first blood, 80-68, from Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Game 1 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 89 seniors basketball finals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Monday.
Second-string guards Yvan Ludovice and Utoy Abarcar sizzled from the outside, while Baser Amer and Anthony Semerad joined the shooting spree to turn the Knights’ round table and erase a six-point deficit, 47-53, in the third quarter.
Ludovice scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter while Amer finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Nigerian center Ola Adeogun top-scored for the Red Lions with 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, despite scoring only two points in the first half.
“It’s all about the defense of the players,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez. “I told the guys to stay within the system, make defensive stops, and from there we can easily score.”
“Coach Boyet told me to enjoy the game and focus on defending against [Raymond] Almazan,” said Adeogun.
The game started with both teams tenaciously defending their respective courts, as the Red Lions played deliberately on offense while the Knights played open court offense.
Scoring picked up in the third quarter, as the Knights grabbed the driver’s seat with the pro-bound Almazan scoring 14 points and blocking three shots in the quarter, but their lead vanished away when Abarcar scored four straight points to open the third quarter, marking San Beda’s scoring rampage to end the game.
The Knights were led by Mark Cruz with 22 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists, while season most valuable player Raymond Almazan added 16 points, ten rebounds, and three blocks.
For his part, Letran head coach Caloy Garcia attributed their loss to their fourth quarter collapse and the lack of preparedness of the second stringers.
“I just told my second stringers [that] we can’t rely on our first stringers all the time,” he explained. “In every situation, hindi pwedeng malamya especially since some of our starters were limited due to fouls.
Game two will be played on Thursday, 2:30 PM, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
