MANILA, Philippines - Three-peat titlist San Beda and San Sebastian face off anew today in a playoff for the top seeding in the Final Four in a showdown that could serve as sneak preview of the finals in the 85th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Lions came back from eight points down in the fourth quarter to pull the rug from under the Stags, 71-67, Monday to force a deadlock on top on identical 16-2 (win-loss) slates.
Gametime set at 4 p.m.
The winner will go on to become the top seed in the Final Four where it would meet with a Rey Guevarra-less No. 4 Letran while the loser go up against No. 3 seed and last year’s runner-up Jose Rizal.
San Beda coach Frankie Lim said finishing on top after the double-round elimination is not just a team goal but a personal goal as well.
“It’s important to the team and it’s personal for me because we always end up at No. 1 in my first two years as coach here so it’s really special for me,” said Lim, who steered the Mendiola-based school to the last two of its three-peat feat.
San Beda’s junior team likewise shoot for the top seeding as it squares off with Letran in another rubber match at 2 p.m.
The Cubs smashed the San Sebastian Staglets, the reigning four-peat titlists, 101-80, the same day the Lions downed the Stags to force a tie with the Squires at the helm on 17-1 records.
The winner of this match goes on to play the No. 4 team, which would be contested by Perpetual Help and Jose Rizal in yet another playoff set at 11 a.m. needing just a win to barge into the best-of-three finale.
The loser, in contrast, drops to No. 2 and plays No. 3 San Sebastian also a win away from clinching the other ticket to the championship.
The Cubs are looking to finish as the No. 1 seed and eventually end up winning it all in tribute to multi-titled long-time coach Ato Badolato, who will retire after this season to concentrate on his work as athletic director of San Beda.
“This is my last season,” said Badolato, who has made it the post season in all but one tries since he took over the coaching reins decades ago.
The Lions employed a tough, leech-like defense on MVP candidate Jimbo Aquino and the rest of the Stags to snatch the win and are expected to use the same tactic when the two collide again.
San Beda rookie Adler dela Rosa, son of former PBA star Romeo, put the cuffs on Aquino, who came into the game averaging 20-plus points a game but managed only 10 shots and made three of it to finish with his season-low nine points.
Without Aquino, the Stags appeared out of sync particularly in the stretch when they were held to just five points with less than seven and a half minutes to go that hastened their downfall.