Extraordinary NCAA campaign for rampaging Red Lions

San Beda's Season 86 campaign in the NCAA was anything but ordinary. Frankie Lim's Red Lions were dominant in a historic ride, as an epitome of perfection. After losing its NCAA crown last year, San Beda made sure it would regain the crown in a memorable way. The Red Lions came out and showed that a team can be invincible and flawless, as they turned in an immaculate 18-0 record en route to reclaiming the NCAA throne. Following a 16-0 sweep of the elimination round, the Red Lions defeated San Sebastian, the team that took their title away last year, in two games in a much-hyped finals rematch that ended a historic season. Lim, the fiery San Beda coach, couldn’t be any happier with what his powerhouse squad accomplished this past year. “It was sweet. It can’t get any better. I was just so happy for my boys." NCAA fans expected the best-of-three series to go the distance and the games to be a nip-and-tuck affair, but the dribblers from Mendiola were all business and made it a one-sided series. Enjoying a thrice-to-beat incentive in the finals as a reward for sweeping the eliminations, the Red Lions needed to win only twice to clinch the title. San Beda handily routed San Sebastian in both games, 93-73 in Game 1 and 85-70 in Game 2, to exact revenge on its conquerors the previous year. The Stags also swept the Red Lions in the 85th NCAA season to foil San Beda’s bid to win a fourth straight title. San Beda’s 18-0 slate definitely earned a place in the history books as the Red Lions became only the first team to sweep their way to a title with that number of consecutive wins. San Sebastian was the last NCAA team to sweep an entire season when Rommel Adducul led the Stags to complete the feat 16 years ago. But San Beda’s 18-game run became the longest winning streak ever accomplished in the league’s rich history. The 16-0 elimination round sweep also stood as the longest. “My guys deserve every bit of it. They’ve worked so hard in practice. You should just see them in practice. How serious they are, how committed they are on winning every game," said Lim. “The sweep is great. The players made history and I’m happy for them. I’m happy to be a part of that. Only history could judge this team. It’s a good feeling accomplishing a feat like this, I hope this would last a long time." It was also San Beda’s 15th basketball title, one short of Letran’s league-best 16 trophies. Daniel in the Lions den Led by American Sudan Daniel, who was named both the season and Finals Most Valuable Player, the Red Lions showed everyone how strong it can be by going undefeated. Daniel, who was a highly-touted rookie last year, asserted his dominance inside to backstop the Red Lions the entire season. “He once told me, I didn’t fly 40,000 miles away from home to fail," said Lim of his prized American big man. Skipper Borgie Hermida, Garvo Lanete, Rome Dela Rosa, Dave Marcelo, Jake Pascual and rookie Anthony Semerad also did their share. “It wasn’t only Su (Daniel). It was our entire team that got us what we achieved. Everyone contributed well for our sake, that’s why we accomplished what we wanted," said Lim. Emerging dynasty Lim plans to build a San Beda dynasty with the team remaining intact for next year’s collegiate cage wars, with only Hermida winding up his playing career for the Red Lions. The entry of high school hotshot Baser Amer, who was named the Juniors MVP after leading the Red Cubs to the title, certainly helps earn San Beda the title-favorite tag for next year. “Amer will take over from where Borgie (Hermida) left off, we’re excited for him. We’re basically an intact team and we hope to capitalize on it and continue winning," ended Lim. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV