The San Beda Red Lions came roaring back in the fourth quarter to pull victory from the jaws of defeat by besting their NCAA rivals San Sebastian Stags, 70-67, in the second game of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League Elite Eight Thursday afternoon at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Down by as many as nine points in the payoff period, San Beda showed the poise of a champion by slowly chipping away from the deficit. With less than a minute to play and trailing 67-69, Robert Bolick found Cris Soberano for the go-ahead basket from beyond the arc, prompting San Sebastian to call for time.
Kent Ilagan tried to return the favor for the Stags by attempting a three-point shot but it was offline. Javee Mocon split his charities from the foul stripe which left San Sebastian a tiny opening to salvage the game. Once again, Ilagan hoisted a shot from beyond the arc, but unfortunately for the Stags, it was the same result as his attempt did not find the bottom of the net which practically sealed his squad’s fate for the day.
In the NCAA hoops wars, the Red Lions were responsible for the Stags elimination when they faced each other in the stepladder semifinals of Season 93.
Bolick and Soberano were the leading scorers for San Beda with 14 markers each.
On the other side of the fence, Stags gunner Michael Calisaan struggled to find his grooved and recorded only a single point without any field goals on five attempts.