Dela Rosa, Dela Cruz connect for game-winner as Red Lions buck Blazers in NCAA opener

(Updated 6:18pm) The San Beda Red Lions successfully began their campaign for a fourth straight NCAA title, escaping hosts College of St. Benilde Blazers in a 71-70 thriller on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Once leading by 15 points in the first half, the Red Lions succumbed to sloppy play in the last two quarters. After leading a 12-4 run in the third period, Paolo Taha capitalized on weak play by San Beda in the fourth, slashing to the hoop for 11 points in a 13-2 surge that cut their deficit to 63-61 with three minutes to play.

Art Dela Cruz came to his team's rescue with a lay-up, giving them their first points since the seven-minute mark of the final period, but St. Benilde responded with huge plays, as Robert Bartolo finished an and-one, and Mark Romero drilled a trey to make it a 68-67 game with just over a minute remaining.

Both teams exchanged misses and San Beda wound up with the ball with under 20 seconds remaining. The Blazers opted to foul Baser Amer, who split from the line with nine ticks on the clock. St. Benilde then ran a pick-and-pop for Fons Saavedra, who canned one from downtown with 4.7 seconds left, 70-69.

The Red Lions called their timeout and triggered the ball from the frontcourt. Rome Dela Rosa lobbed the ball to a streaking Dela Cruz, who came off a series of screens to finish in mid-air. On the other end, the clock ran out on the Blazers, as their last-ditch heave came up terribly short, allowing San Beda to escape by the slimmest of margins.

Dela Cruz top-scored for his team with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ola Adeogun and Dela Rosa offered 11 and 10 points, respectively, while combining for seven rebounds. Baser Amer tallied nine points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

"I'm so happy Art made the shot but it was really a lucky game for us," said new Red Lions head coach Boyet Fernandez, who went on to cite a litany of missed free throws and turnovers that put them at a disadvantage. "Like I said before, every school beefed up their line-ups. St. Benilde will be a tough school to beat."

"Art and I had a bit of eye contact but I didn't think he'd be that open. I just trusted him and put it up there," said Rome Dela Rosa, on his game-winning assist. "But we'll take the win; a win is a win."

"Again, I didn't expect to be that open. I just stepped up," said Dela Cruz. The former Ateneo Blue Eagle also congratulated the Blazers for giving them a tough season-opening encounter. "There's pressure pag nakakalaban mo yung hosts, and I think they stepped up [for their school]."

Early on, the Red Lions lost no time in exploiting disorganized defense by the Blazers. San Beda took a 10-0 lead on a reverse baseline drive by Ryusei Koga, prompting St. Benilde to call for time just three minutes into the game.

The Blazers forced their way to the basket, getting lay-ups from Mark Romero and Fons Saavedra, while a breakaway lay-in by Dexter Garcia pulled them closer, 12-6. The Red Lions then rallied back in the last three minutes, as a last-gasp lay-up by Rome Dela Rosa widened their lead to double digits, 22-12, after the first period.

RJ Agramino opened the second quarter with a three-pointer for St. Benilde, but he injured his left knee shortly after and did not return to the floor. While the Blazers continued to connect from mid-range, San Beda stayed afloat with offensive rebounds and high-low cuts to the basket, using a 12-5 run to post a 34-19 lead.

In quick succession, Fons Saavedra nailed a triple for San Beda and Romero converted at the rim, prompting the Red Lions to call a timeout with under three minutes to play. The Blazers managed to keep it close, answering makes by Ola Adeogun and Rome Dela Rosa with transition chances by Romero and Saavedra, 38-28, at halftime.


The Red Lions came out flat in the third quarter, allowing the Blazers to trim the lead to six, 38-32. Art Dela Cruz stepped up to boost San Beda's stagnant offense to bring the lead back to 12, but that earlier opening was enough to give St. Benilde their second wind. Paolo Taha, JR Ongteco and Romero took advantage of of the Red Lions in transition, and deft passing on their end amounted to a 12-4 run, 50-46.

The Blazers' run was halted momentarily as David Semerad finished a tough shot in the lane at the 1:35 mark, and a Francis Abarcar triple helped the Red Lions limp to a 57-48 finish after three quarters.

St. Benilde started the final frame on the wrong foot as Ongteco was tagged with an unsportsmanlike foul, giving David Semerad two charities plus ball possession. Jaypee Mendoza then completed a tip-in on the next play, completing a four-point swing for San Beda, 61-48, before Taha took it upon himself to bring the Blazers back from below.

Mark Romero led all scorers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Paolo Taha added 15 points and six rebounds. Fons Saavedra and JR Ongteco notched 10 points each, with the former hauling 10 rebounds.

It was a bittersweet loss for Blazers head coach Gab Velasco, who chose to see the positives in their season opener:

"It was a close game, but the team is still new to playing in this kind of situation. We're still learning," he said. "I must say that we're improving in a sense that it was close and we could've won. But especially since we lost it, there's so much we have to correct.

"But even if we lost, you can really see the spirit of the team. They didn't give up, and that's a good thing I'm expecting from this team."

The Red Lions kept their advantage in the rebounding department, 47-40, including 20-13 offensive. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

SBC 71: Dela Cruz 16, Adeogun 11, Dela Rosa 10, Amer 9, Koga 8, Mendoza 4, D Semerad 4, Abarcar 3, Ludovice 2, Pascual 2, A Semerad 2

CSB 70: Romero 19, Taha 15, Ongteco 10, Saavedra 10, Bartolo 9, Agramino 3, Garcia 2, Sinco 2, Alison 0, Deles 0, Grey 0, Jonson 0

Quarter-scoring: 22-12, 38-28, 57-48, 71-70