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THEY may have started poorly, but what mattered more was how the San Beda Red Lions finished the game.

San Beda College was not at its best, but still managed to pull off a 72-63 win over a determined Philippine Christian University outfit in the 84th NCAA seniors basketball tournament last July 9, 2008 at the Pasay Astrodome.

Borgie Hermida, one of the most efficient playmakers in collegiate ranks, rose to the challenge by netting nine of his 17 points in the fourth quarter to help the Red Lions overcome deficits in the early quarters and win their second straight game.

“Borgie and Bam [Gamalinda] played well and they stepped up big time in the last quarter,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. “I’ll take this win. A win is a win.”

Bam Gamalinda, who totalled 13 points and five boards, ignited San Beda’s offensive attack early in the last frame by hitting three clutch baskets to tie the count at 50-all.

And with 2:41 remaining and the game tied at 56-all, Hermida’s moment arrived.

He completed a three-point play to put the Red Lions on top, 59-56, and banged in two more triples before Pong Escobal scored on a jumper to erect a 67-56 advantage with only 1:07 to go.

San Beda stayed on course for the win the rest of the way.

“We struggled in the early goings of the game but we never backed down,” said the peppery Hermida, who shot 5-of-8 from the field. “It was really a hard fight.”

Ogie Menor scored 11 points while 6-foot-8 Sam Ekwe added nine and hauled down 11 rebounds for the Red Lions.
Showing some rust after a 10-day layoff, the Red Lions started flat, hitting a measly 4-of-18 from the field to close the first quarter trailing by five.

“We started flat and we could not create a shot,” said Lim. “We struggled, especially in the first quarter. PCU took their shots at will.”

San Beda is now tied with rivals Letran for first place with an identical 2-0 card.

Leimar Navarro had 16 points while Lizstian Amparado added 12 points for the Dolphins, who fell to the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 card.

PCU star Beau Belga struggled throughout the game, finishing with only eight points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes.

Individual Scores:

San Beda 72 – Hermida 17, Gamalinda 13, Menor 11, Ekwe 9, Tirona 5, Escobal 5, Taganas 4, Taupa 4, Lanete 2, Tecson 1, Pascual 1, Marcelo 0.

PCU 63 – Navarro 16, Amparado 12, Belga 8, Santos 8, McCoy 8, Gomez 7, Busa 3, Siruma 3, Allen 0, Sumera 0, Vidal 0, Arce 0.

Quarter Scores: 15-20; 29-31; 45-48; 72-63.

Tags: NCAA-Season-84, News, PCU-Dolphins, Petron, San-Beda-Red-Lions

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