The San Beda Red Lions continued their unblemished run after nine games in the 2017 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup, breaking past the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the quarterfinals, 65-56, Wednesday afternoon.
Coach Fernandez proudly remarked, “Everybody’s a King Lion for us as long as we win.”
But it was Robert Bolick who led San Beda once more, scoring 17 points to go along with eight assists, four rebounds, and two blocks.
Initially, the game was neck-and-neck closing the first half at 27-26 with San Beda leading. The Fighting Maroons were just closely shadowing the Red Lions.
“I emphasized to my players that if we continue to execute the same way we execute in the first half, we are not gonna win against UP, because UP is a very good defensive team,” remarked San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
In the third quarter, UP got their first and only taste of the lead after a triple by Jerson Prado, 33-32, but Robert Bolick’s reliable shooting came into play. In addition, the Bedans’ tighter defense limited the Maroons to only five points in the third quarter, giving San Beda a 12-point edge entering the final frame.
UP came within five points with less than a minute left, after a bizarre sequence where Bolick was called with an unsportsmanlike foul against Jun Manzo.
“We will not question the call of the referee pero we’ll check the video what happened. If it’s really intentional foul, Robert is dead,” Coach Fernandez quips.
UP took advantage but Arnaud Noah and Joe Presbitero shut the Maroons’ chance to steal the game.
Noah scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Presbitero added 14 markers.
UP’s foreign student-athlete from Mali, Ibrahim Quattara, had an impressive record with 22 points and 25 rebounds. Paul Desiderio finished with just five markers, shooting a horrid 2-for-15 from the field.
UP, as a team, shot just 29 percent from the field compared to the superior 42 percent of San Beda.
San Beda will face the JRU Heavy Bombers in the semifinals on Friday, June 23. – By: Danine Cruz
The Scores:
SBC (65) – Bolick 17, Presbitero 14, Noah 10, Toba 6, Potts 5, Carino 5, Bahio 5, Mocon 3, Abuda 0, Soberano 0, Tongco 0, Adamos 0, Doliguez 0, Ejercito 0.
UP (56) – Quattara 22, Dario 6, Manzo 6, Desiderio 5, De Liano 5 Ju., Prado 5, De Liano Ja. 3, Lao 2, Webb 2, Lim 0, Ricafort 0, Romero 0, Vito 0, Jaboneta 0.
Quarterscores: 15-9, 27-26, 45-33, 65-56.
