NCAA: Lions keep Bombers off-target, secure twice-to-beat advantage

San Beda has given Jose Rizal a dose of its own medicine – on defense. The Red Lions were busy shackling down the Heavy Bombers to fashion out a convincing 78-46 triumph Monday and secure the twice-to-beat incentive in the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan. It was the 14th straight win by the Red Lions, moving them two wins away from completing a sweep in the double-round eliminations of this tournament. The Red Lions can get an outright finals berth if they beat Letran on Friday and San Sebastian on Sept. 29 -- the last play date of the eliminations. "We’re not thinking about that. If it happens, it happens," said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. San Beda's current streak tied the mark it once set in 2006 when it won 14 consecutive games, bridging its third game of the season all the way to Game 1 of the finals. Among the players who suited up for the Red Lions that time were Nigerian Sam Ekwe and current PBA cagers Yousif Al-Jamal, Ogie Menor and Pong Escobal. The team was coached by Koy Banal. This year’s batch is also a win away from matching defending champion San Sebastian’s feat of 15 straight victories, the longest winning streak in the history of the country’s oldest collegiate cage tournament. The Mendiola-based cagers brought their A-grade defensive game against the defense-conscious Heavy Bombers squad. The Red Lions were consistent in making stops, holding the Mandaluyong-based dribblers to 10 points in the first period and nine each in the third and final quarters. The Heavy Bombers were prevented from exploding and grounded to their lowest output this season – 46 points. "Holding JRU below 50 points is a great achievement for our team," said Lim. "Defensively, I think this is the best game we played, and we were able to exploit our advantage in terms of transition points." The match was a personal horror show for JRU coach Vergel Meneses, whose team shot 23 percent from the field. Garvo Lanete finished with 23 points, Rome dela Rosa contributed 13 points, four rebounds and five assists, while Borgie Hermida, back from a two-game absence while nursing a fever, tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Center Sudan Daniel tallied six points, 15 rebounds and two blocks. Lanete and Dela Rosa were mainly responsible for giving San Beda a 26-10 advantage in fastbreak points, while also helping the Red Lions in shackling the Heavy Bombers. For the losing team, no player finished in double figures, with lanky John Montemayor topscoring with only eight points, while also posting five rebounds and five blocks. JRU turned the ball over 20 times in absorbing its fourth defeat in 15 matches. - RCJ, GMANews.TV