The five-time NCAA titleholders San Beda Red Lions grabbed their first PCCL championship after defeating the 2013 national champions DLSU Green Archers, 73-66 in a sweep of their finals series held at the Ynares Gym, Pasig.
San Beda used a 26-point fourth quarter anchored by Baser Amer who made big time jumpers and Arthur Dela Cruz with his timely buckets and assists to outplay their green and white counterparts.
DLSU outplayed their NCAA counterparts to build an eight point lead midway during the third. Ben Mbala started to make noise in the second half offensively as he was held unproductive during the first twenty minutes of the ballgame.
Showcasing a neck and neck grind between two proud collegiate teams, both squads exchanged buckets in the fourth period. San Beda’s three-pointers were not falling for majority of the game but critical offensive boards helped the NCAA squad.
Ola Adeogun, who sat out the entire third quarter due to foul trouble, outplayed Mbala inside both offensively and defensively in the late stages of the game to seal the deal.
Adonis Tierra, who served as San Beda’s interim coach for the tournament was hailed as this year’s PCCL Coach of the Year.
Thomas Torres, Amer, Jeron Teng, Dela Cruz and Adeogun were named to the tournament’s mythical five team. Adeogun was also declared the Finals Most Valuable Player, tallying 18 points and 3 rebounds in the championship-clinching win.
Teng topscored La Salle with 25 points including three 3-pointers and four assists. The Green Archers failed to defend their championship for the second time this year. The team used a 7-man roster in game 2.
The scores:
SBCÂ – Adeogun 19, Dela Cruz 15, Amer 14, Tankoua 9, Sara 7, Koga 2, Sorela 2, Mocon 2, Soberano 2, Mendoza 1, Tongco 0
DLSU – Teng 25, Rivero 11, Mbala 10, Montalbo 8, Torres 7, Tratter 5, Muyang 0.
Quarterscores: 16-15, 31-33, 47-50, 73-66
