4peat Seeking Red Cubs Battles Squires; Round 3 for Red Lions, Altas

San Beda and San Sebastian are a win away from forging another title rematch in the NCAA.

But do they have enough firepower and courage to do it again for the fourth straight time?

With their wide championship experience – not to mention their vast arsenal – the Red Lions are confident of advancing to the finals for the seventh straight time.

And the Stags?

Well, they aren’t too sure of reaching the finals after one member of their “Big Three” – the sweet-shooting Ronald Pascual – was banned one game for a punching foul. That game happens to be today’s semifinal.

So that will be the scenario of the NCAA Final Four today as No. 1 seed San Beda collides with No. 4 University of Perpetual Help at 4 p.m. while the second-seeded San Sebastian tackles host Letran at 6 p.m.

Both San Beda and San Sebastian enjoy twice-to-beat privileges over their rivals for finishing 1-2 in the elims.

With a promise of a heated action, the NCAA management committee has moved its semifinal venue from 2,000-seat The Arena in San Juan to the 15,000-seat Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao to accomodate an expected big crowd.

More than 21,000 fans witnessed Ateneo’s triumph over University of Santo Tomas last Thursday, a crowd which NCAA hopes to match if not surpass when it holds its finals.

Though the Altas were the last to barge into the Final Four, coach Aric del Rosario, perhaps the oldest coach in big-time college competitions, believes their win over Jose Rizal University in their knock out game for the fourth and last semis berth will serve them well against the Stags.

Besides, Perpetual is one of only two teams that beat San Beda this season, doing it in the first round.

Perpetual’s Justin Alano credited their 88-87 overtime win over San Beda in the first round for their sudden rise after being the “whipping boys” the past years.

“Iba talaga yung binibigay na motivation sa amin ni coach. Sa amin, walang star player. Lahat ng ginagawa namin, hindi para sa sarili namin, kundi para sa team,” said Alano, who led the Altas in the team’s 73-68 win over the Bombers last Thursday.

Aside from Alano, Del Rosario is counting on Jett Vidal and Earl Thompson.

San Beda coach Ronnie Magsanoc said nothing, not even a recent 69-55 loss to the Stags at the end of the elims, can dampen their spirits.

The other team that beat San Beda was San Sebastian which it did during the last playing date of the elims, a victory that will surely boost their confidence when they clash against the charging Knights.

Leading MVP candidate Ian Sangalang and Calvin Abueva, the league’s leader in scoring, rebounds and assists, will spearhead San Sebastian against the Knights, who are on a roll, having won their last six games.

The Stags will be missing Pascual for hitting Rome dela Rosa. He was suspended for one game for that.

Letran, which aims to keep its own title bid alive to make its first finals appearance in five years, will rely on the deadly hands of Kevin Alas, Mark Cruz and Kevin Racal, while Raymond Almazan and Jam Cortes will take care of the team’s defense in the shaded lane.

In juniors action, four-peat seeking San Beda Red Cubs battles Letran while San Sebastian collides with St. Benilde-La Salle Greenhills.

source: MB Sports

Category: