The Year in Sports: San Beda Repeated The 3-peat

What was supposed to be an awful year for the Red Lions turned out to be one of the most glorious for them.

The defending NCAA champs entered 2012 with a very uncertain future, what with a series of unfortunate events. A brawl inside the San Beda gym in late 2011 led to the suspension of key players and a two-year ban on chief tactician Frankie Lim. But the league announced the verdict in April of 2012, even when speculations of the punishments already spread much earlier. The Red Lions, the most dominant team in the NCAA in the last six years, looked headed for a very rough season. The morale was low. Many thought the Red Lions would be lucky to even make the Final Four.

But San Beda College, the NCAA’s only remaining founding member, and top patron Manny V. Pangilinan immediately made key adjustments, starting with the appointment of Ronnie Magsanoc as replacement for Frankie. The team underwent other major changes, including the appointment of this writer (Coach Jude Roque) as new team manager. These changes became a huge challenge for this team that was nurtured by Lim and his staff for five years. But the Red Lions adapted well and welcomed a new family.

The NCAA season began with San Beda having just six players in its first assignment against the Arellano Chiefs. Rookie Olaide Adeogun was slapped a four-game suspension while the rest of the squad had to skip one game for the brawl in the previous year. Everybody expected the defending back-to-back champs to suffer their first loss of the season on their very first game, something that has not happened since 2006. But the now revered “Super Six”, composed of the team’s third unit, surprised many with a spectacular 81-71 conquest of the Chiefs. continue reading here

source: Jude Roque, Y! Sports