San Beda Escapes SWU In PCCL Final 4

The San Beda Red Lions barely escaped a feisty South Western University Cobras team, 73-72, in Final Four round-robin play of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League, Wednesday, at the FilOil Flying V Arena.

Facing a 17-point hole, the SWU Cobras fought back with a 22-6 bomb in the fourth quarter, including a 16-point fourth quarter effort from Cameroonian Ben Mbala.

With 40 seconds left to play, San Beda coach Ronnie Magsanoc burned his final timeout to regroup, but Amer missed a three-point try on the ensuing play. With the shot clock off, the Cobras had a chance to take the win, but San Beda forced Mbala away from the paint and trapped him, leaving SWU without any time to launch a potential game-winner.

The CESAFI champions used their speed and quickness early on in the game by cutting to the rim for open lay-ups. On the other hand, San Beda thrived on second-chance points, as Baser Amer, Jake Pascual and Anjo Caram all pitched in for the Red Lions’s first 15 markers. But thanks to a balanced attack, led by Monbert Arong’s aggressive playmaking, the Cobras trailed only by three, 19-16.

The offense slowed down in the final two minutes of the first quarter, as reserves took the floor. Still, a three-pointer by Ivan Ludovice helped pad a 23-19 San Beda advantage.

In the second period, SWU’s balanced offense was nowhere to be seen. Benoit Mbala, their Cameroonian big man, carried the Cobras in the second by scoring their first eight points, punctuated by a cutting two-handed slam. But San Beda maintained their distance, as back-to-back buckets by Kyle Pascual gave them a 32-27 lead.

The Cobras could not get anything going for them in the last five minutes of the quarter. San Beda only allowed a single field goal, a basket by Bert Bregondo, as they unleashed a suffocating halfcourt defensive effort. The stops allowed them to run in transition and outscore SWU 12-2 in the final three minutes, with six points from Amer, which allowed the Red Lions to take a 44-29 lead into the halftime break.

After the intermission, the Cobras tried to make inroads as Arong and Justin Aboude combined for six of their first eight. But SWU could not shrink the lead below 13 points, thanks to uncompleted efforts on the defensive end.

SWU’s scoring picked up in the last two minutes, where they scored nine points capped by a three-pointer by Bon Guillena. But the NCAA champions consistently had their way on the offensive end, matching them at every turn. Ryusei Koga drilled in a pair of three-pointers and Jake Pascual had five points in the quarter to bring the lead to 67-50.

In the final period, San Beda loosened their grip on their 17-point lead as the Cobras clawed their way back. An and-one play by Mbala capped a 9-2 run to bring the lead down to 10, 68-59.

Jake Pascual hit the Red Lions’ first field goal of the quarter at the 4:08 mark and dropped San Beda’s next four points. But Mbala continued to surge for the Cobras, scoring seven of their next nine to nip at the Red Lions’ heels, 74-68 with under two minutes to play.

Another Mbala basket, followed by an Arong fastbreak layup, brought the Cobras within one point, before the final sequences unfolded.


Scores:
SBC - 73: J.Pascual 17, Amer 15, Koga 12, Caram 9, DelaCruz 7, K.Pascual 6, DelaRosa 4, Ludovice 3, Mendoza 0

SWU - 72: M’Bala 27, Arong 13, Aboude 8, Guillena 8, Nalos 7,Bregondo 6, Ortuyo 3, Goloran0, Dedace 0


source: Job De Leon, GMA News

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