Ready To Repeat: Red Lions Bank On History In Bid For No. 1

Been there, done that.

And he can do it again.

San Beda coach Frankie Lim isn’t a bit worried about the possible outcome of his Red Lions facing San Sebastian College today for the No. 1 spot the end of eliminations in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

Since he started coaching San Beda College, Lim said the Red Lions have always managed to end at he top of the heap after every elimination round.

“I think ever since I started coaching San Beda, we always end up the No. 1 team after the eliminations. We owe it to our supporters to always give it our best,” stated Lim.

Will the trend continue to hold true for the Red Lions?

The answer will be known today as San Beda collides with San Sebastian College at 2 p.m. at the Arena in a lone playoff which became necessary after the two teams ended tied for first place at 16-2 at the end of the elimination Wednesday.

But focus will be on the Red Lions who will enter the hard court enjoying a significant amount of momentum after beating the Stags, 90-71, at the close of the elimination.

The rout, which more than avenged the Red Lions’ 68-70 loss to the Stags in their first meeting this season, also gave Lim a chance to study and make up for several lapses in preparation for today’s rematch with the Stags.

“We’ll looked at the tapes of this game (last Wednesday’s game) again and look what we did right and try to correct some mistakes,” Lim said.

A victory by San Beda will make it the top team and will enjoy the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it against fourth-ranked Jose Rizal University at the start of the Final Four on Monday.

On the other hand, if the Red Lions lose today, they will still enjoy the same semifinal advantage against third-ranked Letran College.

It will be a chance for Lim to keep the tradition of always steering the Red Lions to the top spot since he began handling the Red Lions in 2007.

SBC is expected to anchor its offense on Garvo Lanete, who scored 17 points; and Anthony Semerad who is back in action after being sidelined for most part of the elimination. He finished with 13 points against the Stags, including 10 in the third quarter which fueled a dramatic breakaway by SBC. 

source: Arman Carandang, TDT