San Beda draws first blood, snaps Lyceum’s 18-game winning streak
By Maxine Louise Lagman
10 November 2017
San Beda stuns Lyceum to give its first defeat of the season, 94-87, Friday to take Game 1 of the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The defending champions grabs a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three championship series, handing Lyceum their first loss of the season to inch closer to their 10th title in 12 years.
“I give credit to my players. They say that the heart of the Lyceum players are big, well I can say ours are big too,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez.
The Red Lions managed to come back from a 57-45 deficit in the third quarter, as Robert Bolick and Donald Tankoua powered a 16-3 run to clinch a 61-60 lead.
Clinging to a point lead in the last 1:28 left in the game, Bolick shot a much needed triple to keep the Red Lions afloat, followed by six more points. Bolick and Potts capped off the win with their freebies.
Despite the win, Fernandez said the Red Lions still have a lot to do as they remain the underdogs.
“Well, I stick to the brand that we are still the underdogs. We still have to win one more game,” added Fernandez.
Bolick finished with 24 points on 7-for-18 shooting from the field, along with four boards and two dimes.
With Bolick stands Tankoua, who poured a game-high double-double record of 27 points and 20 rebounds, along with two assists.
Potts chipped in 15 points and four rebounds, while Javee Mocon added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Most Valuable Player CJ Perez had 25 points, eight rebounds and two assists, while Mike Nzeusseu chipped in 14 markers and eight boards in the losing effort.
