Lions complete historic 18-game sweep, dethrone Stags

A year after enduring an embarrassing sweep in the finals, San Beda completed its march towards redemption in epic fashion – a perfect 18-0 sweep.

Garvo Lanete and the season's Most Valuable Player Sudan Daniel led the Red Lions to the 86th NCAA men's basketball title with an 85-70 win to dethrone last year’s champion San Sebastian. The Red Lions, who completed a twinkill after the Red Cubs also defeated the Staglets for the juniors' crown earlier, capped their perfect season with a two-game sweep of the Golden Stags. San Beda became the eighth team in the league's 86-year history to complete a double championship. The last time a school swept both basketball divisions was in the 1983 season, with Letran doing the honors. San Sebastian, behind Jonathan Semira and Gilbert Bulawan, managed to trim San Beda's double-digit lead and move to within six, 66-72, with time to spare in the 4th quarter. But Daniel and Lanete scored crucial baskets, with the latter draining a backbreaking triple that touched off an 8-0 run to give the Mendiola-based squad an 80-66 spread with three minutes and 33 seconds left. Lanete had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and perhaps made the biggest shot that ended the Stags' big rally. After the Stags had pulled within six on a free throw by Pamboy Raymundo with 3:59 to go, Lanete dropped the bombshell, a clock-beating triple that rocked the Big Dome. It put San Beda ahead 75-66, a lead that was later stretched on two free throws off an unsportsmanlike foul by Semira with 3:10 to go. In front of 13,011 screaming fans, majority of which were Bedans, the Red Lions once again displayed the brute strength that made them win all of their 16 elimination round games. They went on a big start, then overcame a major threat by the Stags in the fourth quarter to end their masterful campaign in style. The win marked the fourth time in the last five seasons that San Beda won the crown. It was also its 15th overall, moving past Ateneo for second on the all-time list behind the 16 currently held by Letran. "This was an excellent season," said coach Frankie Lim, who won his third crown in four seasons with the Lions. "This 18-0 sweep will last for a long time, and it's a testament to how my guys worked so hard every practice." Fittinglly, Lim was part of the school's last double title as a member of the men's team in 1978. Daniel performed like a monster anew, finishing with 24 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks in 29 minutes off the bench. He was easily named as the Finals MVP after averaging 19.5 points, 14.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in the championship series. "How can you elaborate more when you see him win the MVP award," Lim said of Daniel, who seemed affected by San Sebastian's physical play in last year's championship series. "He was completely a different player from last season." "We won by a lot in the first game but we knew San Sebastian won't give up," said Daniel. "And we showed a lot of restraint against their physical game." "I told the team before the start of the game that we have to match their intensity, because San Sebastian is desperate to win three straight in order to bag the crown," said Lim. "And we did it by doing what we do best, which is to run." Borgie Hermida ended his 16-year career with San Beda by posting 10 points, four rebounds and five assists. He is set to join the Barako Bull in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Semira led the Stags with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and four steals. Raymundo, Calvin Abueva and Ronald Pascual played sluggishly for the Stags. Abueva, who lost to Daniel in the MVP race, had just eight points and six boards, shooting an anemic 2-of-8 from the field. He was even called for an unsportsmanlike foul early in the contest, presaging yet another rugged encounter. "We showed class and kept our composure even though they were hurting us," said Lim. Raymundo was held scoreless in the first half and finished with nine markers, while Pascual only produced four points and collared six boards. The loss ended the short career of coach Ato Agustin with the Stags. He is set to begin his duties as mentor of San Miguel in the ongoing Philippine Cup, but will likely become a consultant for San Sebaastian. – JVP/KY/HS, GMANews.TV