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SAN BEDA STUMPS SSC

Lions tie Stags on top of NCAA

By Julius Manicad

10/13/2009

Stacked against the league’s most dangerous team, San Beda College played exactly the same game that won it three consecutive crowns.

Reeling from the sudden loss of its big offense, the Red Lions launched their airtight defense down the stretch to escape a nail-biting 71-67 victory over San Sebastian College in the 85th NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan.

Sudan Daniel, the flamboyant American recruit, came out smoking, firing 19 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks while Garvo Lanete and Bogie Hermida had 15 and 12 points, respectively, to give the Red Lions a share of the lead with 16-2 together with their victims at the end of the double-round eliminations.

The knot will be shattered in a one-game grudge match tomorrow in what could be a sneak preview of this year’s titular showdown.

The winner will go on to capture the top spot in the Final Four against the depleted Letran College while the loser will be pitted against Jose Rizal University.

Final Four starts on Friday.

“The game will be very important because we haven’t experienced being number two since I took over,” San Beda coach Frankie Lim said. “It wasn’t as easy as we thought. It was our effort to win that gave us this victory.”

But it was their defense that underscored the Red Lions’ stunning win.

“The defensive stuff has been very important to us,” Lim said. “I feel that the boys did a tremendous job on (Jimbo) Aquino and their shooters, giving us so many opportunities to score on the other end.”

Aquino, the Most Valuable Player frontrunner and a cold-blooded assassin from beyond the arc, ended his nightmarish game with a season-low nine points and six rebounds.

Another gunner, Edward Semira, was limited to only three points along with quarterback Pamboy Raymundo.

With their offense sputtering in the final period, the Red Lions turned to their sticky defense in controlling the Stags run to square the count at 67 with less than a minute left.

Then, Gamalinda made a steal off an Aquino miscue to give the Lions a slim two-point edge, 69-67, before Hermida sank his two charities for the final count.