For 32 games, San Beda have been the overlords of the NCAA.
But on November 12, 2019, the streak came screeching to a halt. And it happened in the most crushing of manners as firstly, it ended by just a solitary point; and secondly, it came at the hands of their bitter rivals Letran Knights in a Finals game.
For Red Lions head coach Boyet Fernandez, the pressure of maintaining such a streak to its toll on his players.
“The pressure is off our backs right now. Having a clean slate takes its toll on the players and the community, pero we did that e,” said Fernandez as San Beda had yet to lost a game since August 21, 2018 prior.
“No one is to blame but ourselves.”
San Beda, though, had all the chances to take this one.
The game itself went how the Red Lions wanted it. They held the Knights down to just 65 points after averaging 86 prior to this game.
Though San Beda executed on the defensive end, their offense was a far cry from what everyone saw from them during the entire NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball Tournament.
San Beda, the best shooting and best passing team in the league, shot just 6-of-40 from distance and had just 10 assists. Evan Nelle, the top assist man in the league, only had one dime.
“I told the boys to accept the pain and think about what we did not do well. Eventually, they need to think about what we did well. We held them to down sixty-five points after averaging eighty-plus,” continued the decorated mentor.
“If we do that, we have a chance to win on Friday.”
Fernandez wants his players to feel this pain tonight. And on Wednesday, he wants them to clear their minds and start anew.
If they don’t, it will be a disappointment for San Beda.
“I believe that it will be tough because we only lost once this season. We don’t know how we will come back but I told them that the test of our character is how we can come back from a loss and that loss is tonight. It’s up to us to get back at them on Friday,” he said.
“It’s a big test for our character and the maturity of our young boys. If they step up, then I will say that they made it to where they wanted it to be. This is big pressure for us. We have to win on Friday, if not, we are just giving up a championship.”
