San Beda Nabs Fourth Straight Title
Shaken by their 74-79 loss to the Knights in Game 2, the Red Lions bouncxed back to take Game 3 via a 60-56 victory.
Art de la Cruz tallied 20 points and 16 rebounds to help San Beda take its 18th NCAA crown overall. He was eventually named as the Finals Most Valuable Player.
Powered by Dela Cruz, Baser Amer and Ola Adeogun, the Red Lions took an early 11-6 lead against the Knights.
But Letran’s Raymond Almazan, who was playing his last NCAA game before moving to the PBA, and Mark Cruz unleashed a 19-2 run that had the Lions trailing, 18-10, midway the second canto.
After staring at a 24-30 halftime deficit, San Beda’s bigman Ola Adeogun and Amer strung together four points to cut Letran's lead to 32-29.
Ray Nambatac fired a triple from the corner to keep the Knights ahead 37-31. Adeogun and Amer, however, struck again to give the Lions a 45-43 advantage going into the fourth.
Letran tried to get back into the game but could no closer than 58-56 with 8 ticks remaining.
A costly foul sent Ola to the free throw line where he pegged the final scores.
The Lions took Game 1 by dominating the Knights in the fourth quarter for an 80-68 victory.
But Letran clamped down on San Beda’s scorers in Game 2 to fashion out a 79-74 win to level the series and force the rubber match.
The title win is the Red Lions' fourth straight since starting the streak in Season 86.
Letran, on the other hand, missed the chance to win another men's basketball title since winning in 2005.
source: ABS-CBN News
photo: Jamil Buergo
photo: Jamil Buergo
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