The San Beda Red Lions rediscovered their winning form on Friday in the 101st National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament, learning valuable lessons along the way.
Assistant coach Andre Santos said the 80–76 victory over the College of St. Benilde Blazers at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan served as both a confidence boost and a teaching moment for the team.
“We were ahead, but for some reason, kami ay nagmamadali. That’s a good lesson for us. I’m happy that we learned the lesson with the win,” said Santos.
The Red Lions’ triumph lifted them back to the top of Group B with a 7–3 win-loss record, while the Blazers slipped to 6–4.
With star forward Agjanti Miller having an off-night, Yukien Andrada and Jacob Sajonia stepped up, scoring 23 and 22 points, respectively. Miller still managed a double-double performance of 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Blazers came dangerously close, cutting the deficit to 73–74 in the final minute, but Sajonia’s clutch three-pointer and two free throws in the last 15 seconds secured the Red Lions’ 80–76 escape.
Tony Ynot led Benilde with 21 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort.
Meanwhile, in the other senior game, the defending champion Mapua Cardinals relied on their defense down the stretch to pull off a 78–73 victory over the Lyceum Pirates.
“Sinabi lang ng coaches sa second half na kailangan namin tumrabaho sa depensa kasi ayan ‘yung strength namin,” said team captain JC Recto, who played a pivotal two-way role in the win.
With the Pirates threatening in the closing seconds, Cyril Gonzales came up big with a steal off Jonathan Daileg and calmly sank two free throws after being fouled by Jovan Abregana to seal the deal for Mapua.
The win allowed the Cardinals to rebound from their earlier loss to Benilde and improve to 5–5 in Group A.
Yam Concepcion led Mapua with 15 points, while Recto posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Daileg topscored for Lyceum with 18 points.
In the junior division, James Nodalo exploded for 13 of his 15 points in the final quarter to lead the Lyceum Junior Pirates past the Mapua Red Robins, 80–73, and improve to 3–7 in Group A.
Nodalo keyed a decisive 12–0 run in the last three minutes as the Junior Pirates overturned a 68–70 deficit.
Meanwhile, Juris San Juan fired 17 points to power the San Beda Red Cubs to a 76–59 demolition of the La Salle Greenhills Greenies, improving to 4–6 in Group B. The Greenies fell to 6–4.
