San Beda Facing a Must-Win Situation against UST

The main purpose of the PCCL is to name one champion from the different collegiate basketball tournaments in the country, As they say, "There can only be one," Now, in the ongoing UAAP-NCAA Challenge of the PCCL where both finalists of both leagues will compete for the two spots in the PCCL Final 4, the reigning UAAP Champions, Ateneo Blue Eagles are already secured of a Final 4 berth after staving off a furious challenge from the UST Growling Tigers last Sunday. Both San Beda and UST know the importance of their game later: only one of them has the chance to catch a last bus ticket ride to the Final 4 of the PCCL where the UP Fighting Maroons, like Ateneo, are already waiting.

So, what should the Red Lions do today against a UST side who gave Ateneo a good fight until the third quarter last weekend?

They must first containing the reigning UAAP MVP, Soulemane Chabi-Yo. It must be the first priority in Boyet Fernandez's defensive plans- something that Tab Baldwin was able to figure out as Chabi-Yo was haunted by foul trouble all game long and only produced 5 points on 1 for 5 field goal shooting in 28 minutes. This could be a challenge for the Red Lions as they have no player on their line-up who is tall enough to go toe-to-toe against Chabi-Yo. San Beda may be forced to send double teams on Chabi-Yo but with UST loaded with snipers, that could possess another headache for the Red Lions.

Speaking of the Growling Tigers' snipers from long distance, they shot 32% from the three-point line last Sunday against Ateneo which was a bit far cry from their 34% shooting against the Knights. Realistically, the Red Lions have a better chance of limiting the three-point shooters of UST than containing Soulemane Chabi-Yo. If the Red Lions can play perfect defense against the long-range bombers of UST, they can win this game.

But most importantly, stopping the bench shockers of UST, namely Vince Cuajao among other surprising recruits, is key to San Beda's victory. The Red Lions will need to rely on their defense if they want to keep with the run-and-gun offense of Mark Nonoy, Rhenz Abando, and the rest of last year's UAAP runner-up. 

In terms of offense, the Red Lions must simply replicate the things that enabled them to win against the Knights the last time around. And more. Calvin Oftana can't be the lone starter of San Beda who will score in double figures. They must certainly improve on their 24% three-point shooting that they had against Letran and more importantly, control the offensive rebounds as Letran was able to score 20 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. That's a head-scratcher.

To make the long story short, defense will dictate who will win this afternoon's game and who will move on to the Final 4 of the PCCL,  

Photo is from the Facebook page of the San Beda Red Lions