Lions next goal: Record four-peat

After completing a three-peat in the NCAA, San Beda is looking “four-ward” to extending its reign in the country’s oldest collegiate league this early.

Never mind if ace guard Pong Escobal will not be around to quarterback the team. Never mind if Nigerian Sam Ekwe will not be there to man the fort again.

For as long as the team works hard in practice and training and the recruitment program is sound, the four-peat isn’t a far-fetched idea.

“Anything is possible,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. “But we have to work hard on it. We’ll work on our recruitment and improve our practices and preparations,” Lim said.

But the former pro star said they will need to double or triple their effort to realize their dream with the sweet-shooting Escobal and the hulking 6-9 Ekwe having served out their playing days with the team.

“Here we are again, we need to regroup without Sam and Pong. We’ll think about recruiting more people to fill up the slack,” said Lim.

The Lions actually have got one player to pick up the tab for Ekwe – 6-8 Sudan Daniel, a long-limbed, high-leaping American who already completed his residency by playing in San Beda’s second team.

Although the two foreign players have nearly the same physique, Lim said the similarity ends there.

“Sudan has a different type of game compared to Sam. Sam is real strong inside. I don’t think anyone in this league can stop him once he’s in the paint. With Sudan, you can expect outside shots. He has long arms and a great shot blocker,” Lim said.

Daniel, in fact, was an instant hit in the Fr. Martin Division II Cup, dazzling his rivals and fans with a variety of slams and perimeter jumpers.

As for Escobal, who will suit up with the Talk n Text Phone Pals in the upcoming PBA season, Lim said there are a lot of players who can take over the job.

“I’m looking at Garbo Lanete and JR Tecson to fill the void. We’ll also try to get some rookies from our Team B,” Lim said.

But for now, Lim said the Lions want to savor their third straight championship.

“We had two losses in the eliminations. The forfeiture where we won by 23 points was really painful, they took it away from us. We struggled, we lost to Mapua in the second round and we had a hard time beating them in the playoffs. It wasn’t easy and that makes it a lot sweeter,” Lim said.