Source: inboundpass.com

THE Mapúa Institute of Technology Cardinals tried almost everything they could to win the ballgame. But, in the end, they still bowed down to the mighty Red Lions of San Beda College.

In what has been the most physical game so far in the early portion of the 86^th Season of the NCAA, the Red Lions came out victorious again, winning 69-64 over the Cardinals last Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at the Arena in San Juan City. It was San Beda’s third conquest in as many games.

“Tough win. Scary. Ugly win. But, it’s still a win. So, I’ll take it. But, I have to tell my boys that if I were them, they should be scared. We’ve been starting slow the past two games. It’s not good for us. Nasisira momentum namin when we start soft and then after a while bigla silang magigising. That’s not a good thing. Parang tini-turn on and off lang yung switch. And, for me as a coach, that’s scary,” said San Beda Head Coach Frankie Lim.

The Cardinals surprised the Red Lions by utilizing a running game against them. And, interestingly, for the most part of the first three quarters, Mapúa was beating San Beda at their own game. They scored 8 fastbreak points in the first quarter and were willing to get physical with the much larger Red Lions. Mapúa’s biggest margin was 9-points.

“Less than 30 seconds [After the game began], sinuntuk na si [Jake] Pascual. Right there and then, meron nang statement. And [Andretti] Stevens was playing around and trying to get into Borgie’s [Hermida] head. So I told them at halftime, ‘Linoloko lang kayo ng mga yan eh! What can they do inside the court? They don’t have guns. All they can do is guard you and get into your minds, sirain yung diskarte niyo,’” stressed Lim.

The fourth-year San Beda head coach was referring Maki Acosta as the player who threw the punch at the start of the game. But, Acosta was only charged with a flagrant foul. Acosta and Pascual were battling for position at the post area when the referee stopped the action.

Andretti Stevens was playing tight defense on Borgie Hermida all game long and limited San Beda’s current leading scorer [16.0 PPG] to only 2 first half points. Coach Frankie Lim was giving his veteran playmaker earfuls at various portions of the game.

“I just kept on telling him to make the right decisions. Do the right thing. You can’t overdo it. You can’t be the hero. It takes a team to win this game at hindi siya puwedeng mag-paka-hero. Hindi kami mamamatay sa ganun klaseng laro. I kept on telling him, I kept on going near him. I kept on telling him to make good decisions,” explained Lim.

In the fourth quarter, Hermida responded by scoring 10 points. He finished with 14 points and 6 assists. Garvo Lanete, who hit the go-ahead basket in the fourth quarter via a right wing jumper, also had 14 points. Rome dela Rosa continued to impress as well as he contributed 13. Dave Marcelo had a solid first half, already getting a double-double at that point with 12 markers and 10 rebounds. He grabbed 4 more rebounds in the second half to finish with a total 14.

Anthony Semerad injured his tailbone by falling down hard after a mid-air collision with TG Guillermo. A stretcher was brought out to the court by medics, but the Fil-Australian rookie managed to get back on his feet and walk back to the bench with the help of his teammates.

The Cardinals had a great chance to take the game back from the Red Lions in the fourth quarter after stealing the ball on one occasion, but they were unable to knock down three, three-point attempts.

Team Captain Erwin Cornejo had a brilliant performance, scoring a game-high 20 points and grabbing 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Jason Pascual contributed 13 points including 3 three-point baskets. With this defeat, the Cardinals have split their first two games on the tournament.

“You have to give credit to Mapúa! Honestly, nahirapan kami. Nahirapan kami. They played very good defense and they just fell short pagdating sa dulo. Nakuha lang namin,” stressed coach Frankie Lim after the game.

San Beda’s record is now 3-0 with their next game taking place two weeks from now on Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Their next game will be against their arch-rivals, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights.

Coach Frankie Lim knows that his team cannot start off slow against the Knights.

“Dalawa lang ang depensa nun. Tough and toughest,” said Lim.

The scores:

SBC 69 – Lanete 14, Hermida 14, Dela Rosa 13, Marcelo 12, Daniel 4, Mendoza 4, Pascual J. 2, Caram 2, Pascual K. 2, Semerad A. 2, Semerad D. 0, Villahermosa 0.

MIT 64 – Cornejo 20, Pascual 13, Stevens 9, Acosta 8, Guillermo 6, Sarangay 6, Mangahas 2, Ranises 0, Banal 0, Parala 0.

Quarter scoring: 18-26, 32-36, 47-48, 69-64. [More Photos]

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