Lions roar back

San Beda has won eight of the last 10 NCAA men’s basketball championships and before yielding the crown to Letran in 2019, took the last three so the Red Lions are in strange waters, battling to survive one more knockout game against Mapua in the Final Four at the Filoil Flying V Centre tomorrow.

Mapua and San Beda ended the shortened regular season tied for second with identical 7-2 records but the Lions slid to third by virtue of the Cardinals’ 68-54 win in their head-to-head matchup. San Beda then beat St. Benilde, 63-57, to clinch third place in the play-in and earned the right to battle No. 2 Mapua enjoying a twice-to-beat edge in the semis. Last Sunday, San Beda outlasted Mapua, 73-67, in OT to force a winner-take-all showdown.

“OK ang chances namin sa Mapua,” said Lions coach Boyet Fernandez. “Yung advantage lang nila kasi we have to beat them twice. They’re a very good team. Coach Randy (Alcantara) is doing a great job.” San Beda team manager Jude Roque said it will be a dogfight. “Mapua’s a matchup problem for any team because of several scorers and tough defenders,” he said. “Very experienced players, too, which is what we lack. We only have a few holdovers from last season and many of our new players are quite young. The short preparation wasn’t enough to come up with a well-oiled team.”

Roque said the Lions will play their hearts out to make it back to the finals. “(Peter) Alfaro is learning to be a point guard but his best asset is his defense on the opponents’ best guards,” he said. “Franz (Abuda) has always been our best wing defender, smart and hard-working. Like his father (Freddie), he’s a great rebounder.” Alfaro, Abuda and rookie Jacob Cortez are second-generation players as their fathers are PBA veterans. In last Sunday’s win, Abuda had two points and six rebounds, rating a +10 behind only top scorer James Kwekuteye who shot 17 with a rating of +13. Cortez chipped in 13 points. He was in the Lions reserve cast and elevated to replace injured Dan Villejo mid-tournament. Another first-timer Ralph Penuela had 13 points while JB Bahio and Alfaro contributed nine each.

There’s a special reason why the Lions are roaring to regain the throne. Fernandez said they’re dedicating the season to late San Beda sports director Ato Badolato who passed away last December. “Para ito lagi yung game namin for coach Ato,” said Fernandez. Badolato coached San Beda in various levels from 1967 to 2009, leading the juniors to 16 titles.