San Beda claims fifth straight crown in NCAA hoop wars

FIVE-PEAT. The San Beda Red Lions celebrate after winning their fifth straight crown in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Red Lions swept the Arellano University Chiefs in their best-of-three finals series to seal their 19th title.
(INQUIRER PHOTO)

The San Beda Red Lions completed their drive for five as they copped their fifth straight title in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after winning Game 2, 89-70, over the Arellano University Chiefs yesterday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The win swept the Chiefs in dominant fashion and gave the Red Lions their eighth crown in nine years and 19th overall. Anthony Semerad put an exclamation point on his collegiate career as he exploded for 30 points and six rebounds and was named as the Finals MVP.

Kyle Pascual added 16 while Mythical Five member Ola Adeogun contributed 15 markers, eight boards and three blocks. Point guard Baser Amer, after scoring 17 in Game 1, was limited to just four but facilitated the offense to perfection, finishing with 13 assists. Art dela Cruz added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds.

It wasn’t until the second period though that the Red Lions started to create some more separation as they got triples from Semerad and Dan Sara to turn a 22-14 first period lead into a 31-16 advantage. But the Chiefs, first timers in the finals, did not go away and pulled to within seven in the third before settling for a 52-63 deficit heading to the last canto.

The Chiefs moved to within nine but Pascual pumped in six straight to push the lead back to 15, 74-59, and seal the victory for the Red Lions.

Keith Agovida had another stellar game for the Chiefs with 22 points but it was all for naught as they failed to get production from their backcourt of Mythical Five guard Jovanie Jalalon and the pro-bound John Pinto, who combined for a mere eight points. Rookie of the Year Dioncee Holts had a sub-par outing of just six points.