San Beda survives endgame scare, squeaks past SWU

MANILA, Philippines – San Beda College staved off a furious rally by South Western University to escape with a 73-72 victory to open its Philippine Collegiate Champions League Final Four round campaign on a positive note at the Fil-Oil Flying V Arena in San Juan city today.

SWU missed on a golden opportunity to win the ball game as it failed to take a shot in the final possession due to miscommunication and failure to manage the clock. 

Baser Amer missed a 3-point shot in the previous possession, and the ball was picked up by diminutive guard Benito Nalos to set up the final play.

Benoit Mbala, who scored 15 points in the final canto, dribbled the time away and made an ill-advised pass as time expired, enabling the Lions to escape with the win.

The reigning NCAA champions banked on their experience and a stingy defense, taking a 67-47 lead with 32 ticks remaining in the third quarter.

"A win is a win. It’s better to almost lose than to almost win," said SBC coach Ronnie Magsanoc.

"I thought we had a terrific first half. We just got a little fatigued in the second half. Fortunately we made some stops in the end," he added.

Jake Pascual provided a double-double performance with 17 and 12 rebounds while Amer and Ryusei Koga fired 15 and 12 points, respectively, for the Mendiola-based squad.

"I also thank Jake and Anjo because they don't have to play anymore but they felt compelled to help their teammates," said Magsanoc.

"Jake called me up last Sunday and told me that he will suit up because he saw the tape and knew that they needed his help," he added.

Mbala led the Cobra's charge with 27 points while Monbert Arong chipped in 13 points for the SWU side.

"I've been watching them the last six days and Mbala really is a strong player. You can see in the game that he is like a tank inside even though we're guarding him well," said Magsanoc of SWU’s Cameroonian big man.

The Red Lions turned the pace up a notch and finished with a scintillating 12-0 blast in the last two minutes of the first half, turning a five point lead to a 46-29 advantage at the break.

Facing a huge 17-point deficit at the start of the payoff period, SWU buckled down to work and limited San Beda to only six points to outscore them 22-6, turning a potential blowout into an exciting finish but eventually came up short.

Amer led the Lions charge with 13 first half points while Benoit Mbala of SWU scattered 10 points of his own.

SBC now holds a 1-0 record while SWU dropped to 0-1 in the Final Four round robin stage of the PCCL.

UST and ADMU are playing their first game as of posting time.