San Beda Gunning For Back-2-Back Today

If Game 1 was war, Game 2 will even be more physical.

“If they (Stags) want to play physical, handa naman kami,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim, whose Red Lions outsteadied the San Sebastian Stags, 75-63, Monday at the start of their National Collegiate Athletic Association championship showdown at the Araneta Coliseum.

The victory had the Red Lions moving a win shy of sweeping the best-of-three title series and they can close it out and clinch their sixth title in seven years when they meet the Stags anew today in Game 2, starting at 12 noon.

Game 1 was marked by several hard fouls, flying bodies and players writhing on the floor. The Stags and the Red Lions gave no quarter on defense, but in the end, San Beda’s well-oiled offensive spelled the difference.

The game was so physical, it bordered on the barbaric and it showed on Lim’s face as he entered the press room.

Needing little prodding, the veteran coach launched a tirade against the Stags, who he claimed resorted to “cheap shots” during the game.

“Just like in last year’s finals, there were plenty of cheap shots,” said Lim. “But I told my players to look for the bigger picture. We’re here to play, and not to hurt people.”

Mar Villahermosa, playing in a position dominated by Garvo Lanete, who wasn’t himself in Game 1 (he only had six points), indeed saw the bigger picture and played to his potential, hitting three treys, none bigger than the one that pushed the Stags into a hole in the dying minutes, 70-59, in the final 1:50 mark.

Jake Pascual, who had to take the extra chore in defending against the bull-strong Calvin Abueva, added 14 markers, while Dave Marcelo also had 14.

But while Lim rued the physicality of the game, San Sebastian rookie coach Topex Robinson had some words against the officiating.

“I guess we’ll just have to play through that kind of ‘I don’t know’ officiating. We have a job to do and we have to forget all these and focus on Game 2,” said Robinson, whose Stags will be gunning for a win that will extend the series to a deciding Game 3.

source: Manila Standard