SAN Beda head coach Yuri Escueta knows that beating St. Benilde thrice this season, all in convincing fashion, gives them the necessary confidence entering Game 2 of the NCAA Season 101 semifinals this Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Red Lions continued to stamp their class over the Blazers, dominating them with a 91-72 last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum behind the hot-shooting of Janti Miller and Bryan Sajonia.
READ: San Beda asserts mastery over CSB with Game 1 blowout win
But that’s all it is, confidence. And Escueta knows it’s gonna take a whole lot more than confidence to give the Blazers the boot and advance to yet another championship.
“Of course it gives you confidence, it gives the players confidence. In the back of our minds, we also know that CSB beat us twice in Season 98 and Season 100 in the final four,” he said.
“Right now it’s good that we are the one naman who has the twice to beat advantage after winning the first game,” he continued.
“Nobody wins a series with one game, nobody wins a series if you lead 20 points in the first game. You still have to win two games. You have to stay healthy, prepare yourself come Friday.”
Despite the dominant win, Escueta sees plenty of points for improvement for his squad especially after losing the battle in the paint against the bigger Blazers.
The Blazers outrebounded the Red Lions 44-38, resulting in more second chance points at 12-2 and points in the paint, 46-30.
That’s why Escueta isn’t relaxing, knowing that he’s facing a team that has the personnel and the coaches that can turn this series around in an instant.
“It’s really a challenge every time you play teams this strong. You just have to put in the maximum effort cause you have to guard the painted area in [Shawn] Umali and [Allen] Liwag but if you send help, yung shooters naman will get open,” he said.
“You really have to pick your poison against this team. I’m sure they’re gonna prepare better, they’re gonna get better mentally like nung second game nila against Mapua, they were ready to shoot yung perimeter shots nila so that’s something we have to be ready for the coming game.”
One thing Esceuta will be happy about is the production of his wings in Miller and Sajonia, and the steady play of Nygel Gonzales in the point guard position.
Miller fired 29 and Sajonia added 26, combining to shoot 8-of-14 from downtown while Gonzales was steady with 11 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Of course if you’re a coach, it’s always nice to have two guys who can score,” he said.
“They had 29 and 26 but I’m sure coming the next game they won’t have the same shots that they got today,” he added.
“I would also like to commend Nygel Gonzales, I know he didn’t score 29 or 26 today but the way he handled the ball today, he really gave Janti and Bryan the opportunity to really get to their open spots and score.”
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