NCAA 89 Final Four: SBC Vs UPHSD

The Final Four cast is complete and this is a repeat of last season’s 1 vs. 4 match up.

Interesting to note, San Beda prevailed in both encounters but both were close encounters, lets recap.

In their first meeting, Baser Amer singlehandedly carried the load for the Red Lions with 23 points while the Altas’ Nosa Omorogbe had 21 points.  San Beda led the 2nd chance points department, 9-5 and rebounds, 43-34.

In their 2nd outing, Amer again top scored with 21 points followed by Art Dela Cruz with 16 points.  

Omorogbe had a double-double performance with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Juneric Baloria had 16 points.  San Beda had a double digit lead going for them until a 24-11 outbreak in turnover points by Perpetual Help has put them in great position for a possible take over, but the Red Lions were able regain control in the overtime period to thwart the bulldozing Altas.

The Red Lions are the No. 1 defensive team in the league.  Their offense have been spotty all season, so defense, widely believed to be the philosophy of champions, will be their calling card.

Three things that the Red Lions have to do to stay ahead of their final four repeat adversary, first is rebounding.  Since they do it as a committee, the Altas are the better rebounding team, 44-37 and has the edge in 2nd chance points, 7-5.

Although the Red Lions out-rebounded Perpetual Help in both outings, 99-82 the Altas had the better offensive rebounding output 34-23.

Second is to limit their turnovers.  Overall, the Red Lions are better at taking care of the basketball, 17-19.  However, in their last two games, San Beda committed a total of 46 turnovers compared to Perpetual Help’s 26, that’s a huge disparity, especially in their last game when the Altas led in turnover points, 24-11.

And third, pound the ball inside.  Amer and Dela Cruz has been leading the Red Lions charge all season with 13 and 11 points respectively, but the one true advantage of San Beda is Ola Adeogun.  In both games, Adeogun has performed way below his average of close to 14 points per game to just 5.5 points with a combined 12 shot attempts.  They have to force feed him when necessary if they want to overcome their volatile performance on offense.

The Altas are the best 3-point shooting team in the league with a 31% accuracy from deep.

7 players average above the 25% range and will not hesitate whatsoever in shooting the 3-ball and that means more breathing room for their primary scorers to maneuver and attack the seams of the San Beda defense.

With more room to operate, Nosa Omorogbe can do his thing both inside and out.

He has been a match-up problem for the Red Lions in their past two games.  Omorogbe can post up smaller guards and attack bigger defenders off the dribble.

Omorogbe has been the Altas’ 15 points, 8 rebounds spark, do-it-all guy and will definitely take matters into his own hands in close games.

At the wings are Juneric Baloria, the Altas’ leading scorer and league’s best with 19 points per game,  is a rookie that plays like a veteran and a threat from anywhere on the court in tandem with Harold Arboleda, a double-double workhorse averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds per game.

For their lack of size and with a legendary college coach on their side, they will surely make-up for it with team grit.

During our phone conversation, Coach Aric Del Rosario is confident about his match up with the Red Lions.  He believes that their Season 88 experience against the same foe has helped his team’s semis learning curve.

The result, San Beda in 1.

source: Inboundpass