Red Lions achieve four-peat in FMC Open
San Beda stepped on the gas in the second period and never slowed down since then to hack out an emphatic 64-36 triumph at the expense of the College of St. Benilde for its fourth Fr. Martin Cup Collegiate Open championship in a row yesterday at the Trinity University of Asia gym.
From a tight 9-7 edge at the end of the first quarter, the Red Lions went to their vaunted running game and pressure defense to slowly pull away in the second canto. By halftime, the Bedans were up 26-14.
In the third period, San Beda continued to apply the pressure, forcing the Blazers to commit three consecutive turnovers. The Lions entered the payoff period with a 44-23 advantage and still finished the game strong behind the heads up plays of sensational guard Baser Amer, Arthur Dela Cruz, Ryusei Koga and Rome Dela Rosa. It was then cruise control for the Red Lions in the last seven minutes of play, with the Blazers struggling to solve the unforgiving San Beda defense.
With the game already clearly won by San Beda, things turned ugly in the remaining 30 seconds as CSB power forward Robert Bartolo gave Lion Dave Moralde a hard foul in front of the SBC bench that almost ignited a free-for-all.
Third-year combo guard Koga had one of his best games with the Red Lions, scoring 18 points, followed by Dela Cruz’ 14 markers. Jonathan Grey led the Blazers with 10 points while Bartolo and Luis Sinco added nine and eight points respectively.
This win marked the first collegiate title of the Red Lions this year under new coach Boyet Fernandez, even as he merely served as consultant to assistant coach JB Sison in this tournament.
San Beda is also gunning for a four-peat in the NCAA this season with an almost intact line-up. The Red Lions remain the heavy favorites as only Jake Pascual, Anjo Caram and Melo Lim have finished their stints with the 17-time NCAA champions. Expected to make a strong comeback are the hefty Semerad twins Anthony and David, who were instrumental in San Beda’s 2010 championship run.
But the Red Lions first have their eyes set on winning their first ever Fil-Oil Cup title when the pre-season summer league commences next month.
On the other hand, despite the loss yesterday, the Blazers can look forward to a better showing in the NCAA this year after their surprise finals appearance in the Fr. Martin Cup. St. Benilde finished ninth out of ten teams last season, with a 5-13 win-loss card. It recently appointed veteran college coach Gabby Velasco as the Blazers’ new bench tactician.
