San Beda shoots for 18-game sweep of NCAA elims

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:01:48 +0000

Four-peat seeking San Beda shoots for an outright championship berth when it goes for an 18-game sweep against bitter rival Lyceum Thursday in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament elims at The Arena in San Juan City.

The 2 p.m. showdown between the finalists of the last two seasons could end up as a preview of the championship since the Pirates hold the second-best 13-4 record.

San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez (MB photo | Rio Leonelle Deluvio)

But if their first round encounter would be used as a barometer then the Lions will have no problem repeating their runaway 88-73 win.

Letran takes on also-ran Emilio Aguinaldo College at 2 p.m., with the Knights hoping to clinch the No. 3 slot in the semifinals.

San Beda is aiming to become the third team in the last 10 years to score a sweep in the eliminations and book an outright spot in the finals.

Under league rules, a sweep by a team of the two-round elims means automatic slot in the finals, while the second to fourth placers will be relegated to a playoff stepladder to determine the second finalist.

That means No. 3 team takes on No. 4 team, with the winner moving to the next stage against the second seed in another do-or-die match, and the winner advancing in the best-of-three finals series.

In the last 10 years of the NCAA, two schools have swept the elimination round to advance outright in the finals and the Red Lions have done it back in 2010 as they went unbeaten in 16 games.

That year, San Beda defeated San Sebastian College-Recoletos in a best-of-three showdown, after the Stags edged the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in the stepladder playoffs, and prior to that, JRU downed Mapua.

http://tempo.com.ph/feed/