Coaches see tight NCAA title series

Coaches Koy Banal of San Beda and Joel Dualan of Philippine Christian University think their best-of-three showdown is pretty even. The other NCAA coaches agree.

Coach Louie Alas, whose Letran Knights were dethroned by the PCU Dolphins in their Final Four showdown, said the short series is hard to predict because of the two teams’ contrasting styles.

"It’s hard to predict but whoever wins Game 2 would win it," Alas predicted.

Alas observed the Dolphins thrive on a running game while the Lions, who edged the Mapua Cardinals in the other semifinal duel, kill their opponents with their tough defense and deliberate half-court offense.

"San Beda is pretty consistent while PCU is peaking at the right time. Individually, PCU has the edge because they will beat you with their zone defense and their fast break game while San Beda counters by being patient in defense and offense. You seldom see them take a forced shot before four to five passes," Alas also said

Arturo "Bai" Cristobal of Perpetual Help and Ariel Vanguardia of Jose Rizal say the Lions have the manpower and the coaching staff that can win it all.

"San Beda would be hard to beat. They have better players and a champion coach in Koy Banal," said Vanguardia. "But if there’s a team that can match up well with them, it’s PCU because they have size, too."

"San Beda has an advantage because of Samuel Ekwe," said Cristobal, who steered the Altas to the finals two seasons back before getting ambushed by the Dolphins.

"Ekwe plays tough defense, something that is not seen in the stat sheets. But he really changes the complexion of the game because of his defense," he added. — Joey Villar