inboundpass.com – Covering Philippine college basketball / UAAP, NCAA, PCC

SAN BEDA COLLEGE will defend its title this season.

Sam Ekwe bailed out the Red Lions en route to a thrilling 62-58 come-from-behind victory against San Sebastian College-Recoletos to book a place in the Final Four of the 84th NCAA men’s basketball tournament last September 3, 2008 at the Pasay Astrodome.

The Stags were on top, 48-38, at the end of three quarters thanks to Franz Delgado’s impressive shooting. But Ekwe responded by rattling in 13 of his 24 points in the final quarter as the Red Lions held their ground and became the first team to enter the semifinals.

“We wanted to show San Sebastian that we are the defending champions,â€? said Ekwe, who shot 11-of-21 from the field to go along with 17 rebounds and three blocks. “We couldn’t afford to lose this game. We treated this game as a do-or-die game.â€?

Pro-bound Pong Escobal, who was selected by the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in the 2008 PBA Rookie Draft, had 11 points, five boards and four assists, while rookie Jake Pascual scored nine points and hauled down six rebounds.

Pascual handed the Red Lions the lead in crunch time, 59-58, when he completed a lay-up with only 50.6 ticks to go. That proved to be the go-ahead basket that put away the Stags, who ended the elimination round at 9-5.

The Red Lions’ win also solidified their hold on one of the two twice-to-beat incentives in the Final Four. If they come up victorious against Letran next week, they will automatically be the top seeds in the post-season.

“I told them that this is the game of the year. The result of this game will put us where we want to be,� said San Beda head coach Frankie Lim. “As what I said, if they really wanted to win this is the time so I’m just happy my players stepped up.�

Playmaker Pamboy Raymundo steered San Sebastian to an early 19-13 lead in the first quarter after hitting eight of his 10 points.

Delgado paced San Sebastian with 15 points, nine of them from three-point range, while center Jason Ballesteros scored eight points and hauled down 23 rebounds in 39 minutes of action.

“We almost won it but my guards gave up. It looked like they were nervous,� Jorge Gallent, the Stags’ coach, told inboundpass in an impromptu interview. “We will make some adjustments before the Final Four.�

Incidentally, San Beda snapped an eight-game winning run for the second time this season. Before cutting short the Stags’ streak, the back-to-back titlists ended Jose Rizal University’s own eight-game run.

The scores:

San Beda 62 – Ekwe 24, Escobal 11, Pascual 9, Menor 6, Gamalinda 4, Hermida 4, Taganas 4, Tirona 0.

San Sebastian 58 – Delgado 15, Raymundo 10, Saquillo 8, Ballesteros 8, Viray 7, Aquino 4, Zulueta 2, Maconocido 2, Bulawan 2, Semira 0, del Rio 0.

Quarter scores: 13-19; 28-27; 38-48; 62-58

Posted in News