Dream Finals: Stags face Lions for NCAA crown

Pamboy Raymundo made sure San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) will get a chance to defend its NCAA men's basketball crown.

With the Golden Stags teetering on the brink of a massive collapse, the veteran playmaker starred in a pivotal 13-1 run as San Sebastian pulled off a 62-51 triumph over the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers in their stepladder knockout game on Friday at The Arena in San Juan City. Raymundo scored 10 points in that scoring stretch, mostly on free throws, as the Stags quickly turned a 46-43 deficit into a 56-47 advantage with two minutes and 33 seconds left in the game. Agustin was thankful for the strong showing by Raymundo, who finished with 14 points, hitting 9-of-11 from the free throw line, while also tallying five rebounds and three assists. He had a 29-point effort the last time out, in a losing game to the San Beda Red Lions to end the limination round. Eight of his points from the charity stripe were converted during the latter stretch of the game ,when he capitalized on JRU's early penalty situation. "Pamboy really did a great job of taking advantage of JRU being in penalty by driving inside the lane," Agustin said. "I was struggling at first. I kept missing my outside shots, so Coach told me in the fourth quarter to just attack since JRU was in penalty," said Raymundo, who is playing in his final year. His points came at the right time, after the Stags blew an early 11-point lead (28-17) and even fell behind 44-41 on a three-pointer by the Bombers' Nate Matute with 6:19 remaining. Lanky Ian Sanggalang added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Stags, while season Most Valuable Player (MVP) contender Calvin Abueva, who struggled offensively the entire game, tallied 10 markers, 14 boards and two blocks. San Sebastian also got solid contribution from Ronald Pascual who had eight points and five rebounds in his return from a flu after a five-game absence. San Sebastian will face early finalist San Beda on October 13, with the Red Lions enjoying a thrice-to-beat advantage. San Beda earned an outright finals berth after completing a 16-game sweep of its elimination round games. "We're not afraid of them although we have to be ready against San Beda," said coach Ato Agustin, who hopes to end his NCAA tenure in style before concentrating on his duties with San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). "It's a wonder they were able to get that record. They're strong, so we have to double our efforts in the finals," Agustin added. The Stags won despite shooting a horrendous 28 percent from the field, compared to. JRU's almost equally anemic 31 percent. JRU seized the early advantage as rookie guard Alex Almario made five points for a 7-1 edge in the first three minutes. But the Mandaluyong-based squad got worn down by San Sebastian, which grabbed the lead in the second period. "I thought that we somehow lost our defensive intensity in the second half," said Agustin. "At first, we were able to contain their low-post players, because we were harassing the guards before they could dish off the passes to their bigs." Marvin Hayes, who bid goodbye to his collegiate career on a sad note, was the lone double-digit scorer for JRU with 10 points and seven rebounds, five of which came on the offensive glass. Matute had nine while Almario made eight points and four boards. After scoring 17 points in JRU's knockout game against Mapua on Wednesday, Joe Etame was held to just eight points and three rebounds while blocking three shots in just 19 minutes on the floor. The loss extended JRU's title drought to 38 years, the longest active streak in the league. – JVP/OMG/KY, GMANews.TV