MANILA, Philippines - San Beda shoots for a piece of history today as it collides La Salle-Greenhills in what promises to be another fierce battle for the NCAA high school basketball championship at The Arena in San Juan City.
The Cubs got back at the Greenies with a scrambling 74-73 victory last Monday as they moved within a win from booking a record 19th juniors crown in the country’s oldest collegiate league.
Gametime is at 2 p.m.
San Beda, which shares the most number of championships with Mapua with 18 titles, leads La Salle Greenhills, 2-1, in the title series after the latter pulled off a stunning 85-82 victory last Oct. 24.
The Cubs gained an automatic 1-0 edge in the finals after sweeping the double-round elims.
“Our goal is really to win the school its 19th championship that’s why we will go for it so as not to complicate things,” said San Beda coach Britt Reroma.
The Cubs banked on Daryl Nazareno’s free throw and Antonio Bonsubre’s steal in the dying seconds to snatch the win in a match that was close throughout.
“We’re on the brink of something big now and we will not let it slip away, it’s a chance that we have to grab,” said Reroma.
He, however, said he didn’t like the way they played the last time out, stressing the need to pass the ball around more.
“We were definitely lucky to win that game even if we did not share the ball well. But we will try to correct our mistakes,” said Reroma.
Francis Abarcar and sophomore Arvin Tolentino scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, for San Beda but it was Nazareno and Bonsubre who sparkled at endgame.
Nazareno’s split in the last 8.1 seconds shattered the last deadlock at 73 and Bonsubre preserved the lead – and the win – with a steal off Thomas Torres and Jon Villaruz in La Salle’s make-or-break play.
Villaruz fired 20 points for La Salle, which also goes all out to force a rubber match on Nov. 7.
The Greenies will also need Andre Paras to step up after being held to just eight points following a 13-point performance in Game One, including 11 in the final quarter.