Red Lions claim No. 1 spot

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda scored a double victory in NCAA basketball yesterday, toppling San Sebastian, 71-65, in seniors play and beating Letran, 91-77, in the juniors side to clinch the top seeding in both divisions at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Lions, the reigning three-peat champions who forced a playoff for the No. 1 spot with a 71-67 win at the close of the double-round elims last Monday, proved steadier down the stretch for the second straight time, outscoring the Stags, who reeled from the ejection of top gunner Jimbo Aquino in the third quarter.

San Beda thus clinched the top seeding for a showdown with No. 4 Letran in the Final Four tomorrow. The Lions need just a win to advance to the finals for the fourth straight year.

“We’re happy to finish on top for the third straight year and we take pride on that,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim.

Borgie Hermida finally came out with his best game in the season, scoring 18 points, including six in the final quarter, while orchestrating the team’s play with accuracy.

“Borgie played great in this game, I’m happy he stepped up,” said Lim.

The Stags, who strung up 15 straight wins in one stretch but dropped three of their last four games, slid to No. 2 for the other twice-to-beat edge. They will face last year’s losing finalist and No. 3 Jose Rizal Bombers in other semis pairing.

Aquino, the league’s second leading scorer, was ejected with six minutes remaining in the third quarter for punching San Beda’s Jake Pascual and will get an automatic one-game suspension.

With Aquino out, the Lions tried to blow the game apart with a 12-point lead in the fourth but the Stags fought back behind the clutch shooting of reserve guard Anthony del Rio, who knocked down eight of his 13 points in the last period.

A putback by Calvin Abueva put San Sebastian within, 65-66, with over three minutes to go in the contest.

But the Lions shut down the Stags the rest of the way with Jake Pascual, who scored all his eight points in the second half, combining with Hermida.

Earlier, San Beda repeated over Letran in their own playoff to clinch the top seeding in the Final Four in the juniors division.

Baser Amer and Roldan Sara combined for 40 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and five steals to fuel the Cubs’ charge while Marc Ludovice added 10 points he spiked with two steals and an assist.

The Cubs face the JRU Light Bombers, who turned back Perpetual Help, 83-77, to clinch the No. 4 spot.

Jarelan Tampus fired 26 points but fouled out early in the fourth quarter while Glenn Khobuntin played with a sprained ankle and finished with only eight points for the Squires.

Letran finished at No. 2 and will take on No. 3 San Sebastian in the other semis duel.

Louie Vigil, the leading MVP contender, erupted for 33 points, including a 15-point barrage in the second quarter when the Light Bombers roared back from 14 points down to seize control.