Hot-shooting San Beda holds off UC
Tuesday, 6 December 2011 49 Comments
FACED with a zone defense for most of the game, San Beda College took the perimeter looks and made sure the ploy backfired on the University of Cebu in the second half.
After going 3-for-14 from beyond the arc in the game’s first 20 minutes, the reigning, back-to-back NCAA champions rebounded by making half of their 18 triples from halftime onwards, including five out of 10 in the final canto, to outlast the two-time, reigning CESAFI and Southern Islands bracket champion Webmasters, 83-77 in the 2011 Philippine Collegiate Champions League round-robin Final Four phase last December 6 at the Arena in San Juan.
“I think the important thing this afternoon was how we contained the other players [of UC],” said San Beda head coach Frankie Lim after the game. “Fajardo is such a big guy in the paint and we did our best to stop him, but, same thing, he [still] scored 24 points and had 14 rebounds.”
Leading by a point, 57-56, headed into the last quarter, the Webmasters snatched the lead on a pair of Junemar Fajardo baskets down low, 63-60. Rome de la Rosa countered with six in an 8-0 blast, making it 68-63, before an Edward Pao triple got UC within two once more with 6:33 remaining. De la Rosa and rookie point guard Baser Amer continued to bomb away from downtown, keeping their team out ahead. With time winding down, a stop and pop in transition by Gerald Ampoon pulled University of Cebu to within four, 1:34 remaining, 79-75, only to see Mar Villahermosa counter with yet another triple that padded the lead to 82-75 with 1:15 left, essentially putting the nail in UC’s coffin. Off a timeout, Fajardo made the difference five with 1:12 remaining, keeping his team alive. But, on the next possession, the Webmasters were unable to secure the rebound after a missed Villahermosa triple, giving the ball back to San Beda. Another offensive rebound allowed the Red Lions to burn even more clock such that when possession was finally awarded to the CESAFI champions, there were just 34.3 seconds left. And, after a missed triple by Luigi Bercede, all that was left was for the Red Lions to run the clock.
The Webmasters led by five at the start of the game, 9-5, after a triple by Pao, but it was all back and forth from that point on as neither side was able to build a sizable advantage. In the third quarter, a steal and a layup by Dave Marcelo and a transition basket by Villahermosa gave San Beda a 48-43 lead before UC countered with back-to-back triples from Ampoon and Bercede. Yet another triple, this time by Robinson Mohammad, and a post-up move by Brian Heruela, had the Webmasters threatening to enter fourth with the lead, 56-54 before leaving Amer wide open for a triple on the next play, setting up the fourth quarter shootout.
Playing with a depleted line-up, San Beda rode on de la Rosa’s shoulders. The versatile forward posted all-around of 25 points, six boards and five dimes to lead his squad. “Hopefully, that will help us next year,” said Lim, referring to the junior’s improved outside stroke. Villahermosa added 15 points, while blue-chipper Amer contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals in one of his best performances in his young collegiate career. It was enough to make up for yet another quiet performance from their big men, Kyle Pascual and Marcelo, who combined for just six markers.
After playing just 14 minutes versus Ateneo the previous day, Fajardo played all but two minutes of the game, scoring 24 points and hauling down 14 boards. But the big man was clearly still feeling the effects of his knee injury, suffered while playing against the SWU Cobras in the Southern Islands final as his explosiveness while playing in Ormoc City seemed to have deserted him. Pao added 17 points, but just three after the break, while CESAFI Mythical Five selection Heruela never got off the floor, playing all 40 minutes and producing 14 points, 11 rebounds, five dimes and two swipes.
Despite playing against the 6’10″ Fajardo, San Beda was able to win the battle of the boards, getting 48 rebounds to the 38 of UC, including an 18 to 9 edge in the offensive rebounds category. The Red Lions were also able to get their running game going, zooming out to a 21 to 7 bubble in transition points.
With the win, San Beda was able to forge a win-or-go-home game for the last spot in the finals on Friday, December 9, against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. The winner takes on the San Sebastian Stags, armed with a twice-to-beat advantage regardless of who they face in the championship. “It’s a matter of pride,” said Lim of the match-up. “We’ll see what we can do, and try to limit [Greg] Slaughter and [Kiefer] Ravena.”
Meanwhile, the University of Cebu will look to salvage their trip to the capital city with a win against the Stags on Thursday, December 8, though the result will not have an impact on the two teams’ seeding.
The scores:
San Beda 83 – De la Rosa 25, Villahermosa 15, Amer 14, Sorela 7, Caram 7, Lim 6, Pascual 4, Marcelo 2, Pontejos 2, Koga 1
UC 77 – Fajardo 24, Pao 17, Heruela 14, Ampoon 10, Bercede 7, Mohammad 5, Batino 0, Auditor 0, Aranas 0
Quarter scoring: 20-22, 36-35, 57-56, 83-77
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