Lions kings anew in NCAA wars

MANILA, Philippines - After lurking in the shadows of San Sebastian most of the season, San Beda showed who’s the real boss in the 87th NCAA seniors basketball tournament as the Red Lions retained the crown by repeating over the Stags, 57-55, yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Lions turned to another back-up player in David Semerad and Finals MVP Dave Marcelo to claim their 16th title overall in a season that saw them play second fiddle to the Stags (undefeated in their first 15 games) before eventually catching up at 16-2 and wresting the top spot in a playoff.

“This is the championship and I told the guys to look at it like there’s no tomorrow, play as if this was your last game and they responded very well,” said SBC coach Frankie Lim, whose school tied Letran for the most number of crowns in the country’s oldest collegiate league.

Coach of the Year awardee Lim, owner of two championship rings as a Red Lion (1977 and 78), piloted SBC to its fourth crown in five years at the helm.

“Every championship is always sweet since this is the prize we’ve been aspiring for the whole year,” Lim said when asked to compare which one’s the sweetest.

The Lions outmuscled the Stags in a highly physical contest in the series’ opener, 75-63, last Monday.

Semerad came off the bench to fire 15 points, including seven in the fourth quarter capped by a split and lay-in that gave SBC a 57-53 cushion with 53.6 seconds left.

“It was DJ (Semerad) who played big for us. (Starter) Jake Pascual got into early foul trouble so he came in and made three-to-four shots on the side, grabbed the crucial rebounds (three) and most importantly held his own against (Stags’ ace Calvin) Abueva,” said Lim.

Abueva, the season MVP, was limited to a single point in the fourth for 12 overall, along with 13 boards.

Marcelo played solid down low, grabbing 16 rebounds and adding two points and the same number of assists. Anjo Caram (10) and second unit guard Mar Villahermosa (8), the hero of their 75-63 Game 1 win, and rookie Baser Amer (7 points, 5 assists) offset the off-form showing of flu-hit Garvo Lanete, whose only basket was a lay-in that knotted the count at 52 in the fourth.

The Stags went to within two at 55-57 on a jumper by Jovit dela Cruz, 37.6 seconds to go, and even got ball possession in the last 15 seconds. But Ronald Pascual (15 points) badly missed his triple try and the ball went out of bounds as large sea of red whooped it up in celebration .

“We fought a good fight. Bravo Baste!” said SSC coach Topex Robinson.

 The scores:

San Beda 57 – D. Semerad 15, Caram 10, Villahermosa 8, Amer 7, dela Rosa 5, K. Pascual 4, Marcelo 2, Lanete 2, A. Semerad 2, J. Pascual 2.

San Sebastian 55 – Pascual 15, Sangalang 13, Abueva 12, Miranda 5, Dela Cruz 4, Antipuesto 4, Del Rio 2, Vitug 0, Maiquez o.

Quarterscores: 14-15, 27-32, 48-50, 57-55