SAN Beda kicked off its bid to regain the NCAA seniors basketball championship by turning back a gritty Lyceum side, 84-76, Saturday at the La Salle Greenhills gym.
San Beda vs Lyceum recap
The Red Lions dominated the game from the get-go, but just couldn't shake off the pesky Pirates who kept coming back and threatening until the end.
Although happy with the win, San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez said his team remains a work in progress.
"Probably six or seven," he said when asked to rate the performance of his team on a scale of 1 to 10 on opening day.
"We're not in a position right now to be in our playing shape. We need to improve more."
Ralph Penuela and JB Bahio each had 12 points to lead the Red Lions, who lost their title to the Letran Knights in 2019 in the pre-pandemic era.
Veteran Enoch Valdez finished with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the charge for Lyceum, which trailed by as many as 17 points, but didn't go down easily.
The effort of the Pirates earned them the respect of Fernandez.
"I credit LPU and coach Gilbert (Malabanan) for preparing really well. As I've said mystery sa akin ang LPU because they have new players, a new coach, so different system," said the San Beda mentor.
"So nangangapa kami kasi hindi pa namin sila nakitang maglaro. First time lang namin silang nakita."
The scores:
San Beda (84) - Penuela 12, Bahio 12, Ynot 10, Canlas 9, Cuntapay 9, Gallego 7, Cometa 5, Andrada 5, Amsali 4, Villejo 4, Alfaro 3, Abuda 2, Visser 1, Jopia 0, Sanchez 0.
Lyceum (76) - Valdez 23, Navarro 15, Guinto 10, Umali 8, Cunanan 6, Remulla 5, Guadana 2, Larupay 2, Barba 2, Abadeza 2, Bravo 2, Silvarez 0, Jabel 0, Garro 0.
Quarterscores: 25-18; 41-27; 65-51; 86-74
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