SAN Beda’s NCAA Season 99 title run may have been extra sweet with the way the Red Lions had to be in survival mode starting the end of last year's elimination round, but it’s not a path coach Yuri Escueta wants to tread once more.
The good news for him is, he doesn’t have to now.
This comes after their highly-impressive 89-59 blowout win over the EAC Generals last Wednesday to keep a stronghold of the third seed in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament entering the home stretch of the elimination round.
This blowout win assured them of at least a playoff for a semis spot, regardless of what happens in their final three games, with another victory wrapping up the semis seat for them - a stark contrast from their run last year.
In the previous season, the Red Lions had to win their last four games to secure a semis seat, where they faced a promising Lyceum Pirates squad in the semis needing to win two more.
In the end, it was all worth it for the Mendiola squad as they went on to sweep the Pirates, before once again coming back from the dead with a reverse-sweep of Mapua in the finals after losing the first game of the series.
While Escueta wants a repeat of the result of last season, he’s happy to avoid complications this time around.
“If mangyari yung last year, why not? Pero mahirap dumaan sa butas ng karayom so we still believe we can improve our standings sa Final Four,” Escueta said.
With the win, San Beda now sits comfortably at third place with a 10-5 record and unlike last year, it’s not only fighting for survival – it’s now on the hunt for that twice-to-beat incentive come the semifinals.
The Red Lions are chasing the St. Benilde Blazers (12-2) and the Mapua Cardinals (12-3) for those spots, and they’re being trailed by Letran, Lyceum and EAC, all toting 7-8 records.
They’d get a chance to create even more separation from the pack when they face the Knights this Sunday in a high-stakes rivalry match with the Red Lions targeting a top-two finish, and the Knights hoping to hold on amid a second-round horror stretch.
Escueta is bracing for that match not because of their storied rivalry with the Knights, but because of the implications that it has for both of them.
“Paghahandaan lang namin kung pano namin sila paghahandaan and again they are trying to get to a Final Four spot like us so we expect it to be a good game from both sides and a lot of energy.” he said.
“Last year gan’on din eh, gan’on talaga sa NC[AA] hindi ka pwede mag relax whatever game. Katulad nito may mga San Sebastian pa kami sa dulo, hindi kami pwede mag-relax dun kasi go hard talaga sila sa NCAA so kapag hindi ka ready, you can get beat anytime.”
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