San Beda University re-entered the Final Four picture after an intense matchup against season host Jose Rizal University.
The Red Lions defused the Heavy Bombers, 74-69, taking a top four spt in the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Red Lions surpassed the Heavy Bombers in the standings, moving up to a 10-6 record and tying with the Benilde Blazers for the third and fourth spots.
They are set to face the current second-seed Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.as they aim to secure a spot in the Final Four.
Moreover, the Red Lions dropped the Heavy Bombers to the fifth spot with a 10-7 record.
They have a meeting with the top team, Mapua University Cardinals, on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
“It’s a big win for us. Again hats off to the players that they are the ones that gave it their all. If it helped us get to the final four okay sa amin, pero sabi ko nga focus ko lang is one game at a time, play as hard as we can, whatever the result is as long as we did what we’re supposed to do okay na ako diyan,” shared second-year Red Lions head coach Yuri Escueta after the game.
The Red Lions led by as much as 12 points in the third quarter, 55-43 after a three-pointer from Yukien Andrada. The Heavy Bombers refused to go down without a fight though as they cut the San Beda advantage down to single digits by the final quarter.
The Red Lions saw their lead go down to a single possession, with 1:33 left in the game after a layup from Joshua Guiab brought the game to 69-66. James Payosing would swiftly retaliate on the other end though to give themselves a comfortable five-point edge, 71-66.
With 22.9 seconds left on the clock, Escueta drew up a Sideline Out-of-Bounds play from JRU’s end of the court to get rid of the shot clock. Escueta placed all four players on the side of JRU’s basket, deceiving their opponents into defending their own side of the court.
Andrada set a back screen for Nygel Gonzales, who drove hard towards JRU’s basket and drew two Heavy Bombers defenders, allowing Andrada to run out in transition for a completely wide-open fast break layup that ultimately sealed the win for San Beda.
Escueta later praised his squad for their late-game execution, shouldering the endgame rally from the Heavy Bombers successfully.
“Of course a team that’s coached by Coach Louie (Gonzalez) hindi talaga susuko yan hanggang dulo. Yun din sinabi ko sa players sa huddle diba? We have to play until the end. Hindi sila hanggang dulo kami 38 minutes. Tingnan mo nakita sa Mapua namin, we played three quarters and two minutes, nung last eight minutes huminto kami sa both sides of the court. That’s something we learned from that tough loss in Mapua,” explained Escueta.
Andrada finished with a game-high 18 points on four triples and 63.6% shooting from the field. His frontcourt partner Jomel Puno added 13 points and eight boards.
In the backcourt, Jacob Cortez and James Payosing chipped in with 12 points apiece. Payosing added 11 rebounds and two steals to complete a double-double.
Delos Santos filled up the box score for JRU with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and five blocks.
Shawn Argente also added 15 points with 2/4 shooting from three and 4/4 from the line. Joshua Guiab and Ry Dela Rosa added 10 points each.
The Scores:
San Beda 74– Andrada 18, Puno 13, Cortez 12, Payosing 12, Gonzales 6, Alfaro 6, Royo 3, Jopia 2, Visser 2, Cuntapay 0, Tagle 0
JRU 69- Delos Santos 15, Argente 15, Guiab 10, Dela Rosa 10, Dionisio 7, Miranda 6, Medina 2, Sarmiento 2, De Leon 2, Arenal 0, Sy 0, Sy 0, Ramos 0, Pabico 0, Mosqueda 0
Quarterscores: 20-16, 41-35, 59-51, 74-69
