MANILA – San Beda coach Frankie Lim said grabbing Game One in the 86th National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball finale would help them waltz to an elusive 15th crown.
“For me, Game One would define the series and it’s going to be up for grabs. If we get the first game, we’ll have an 80-percent chance of winning the championship,” he said.
Lim steered the school to its fifth straight championship appearance laced with a three-peat from 2006-2008.
The Lions clinched an outright spot in the finals after nipping the Stags, 90-82, last September 29 to complete a 16-game sweep of the elimination round.
The unbeaten run was the first since San Sebastian did the trick in 12 games, 13 seasons back on its way to the title.
For the feat, San Beda enjoys a 1-0 (win-loss) advantage in its best-of-five title duel against the defending champion San Sebastian.
San Beda would just need to win twice to bag the crown.
Basketball action starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum and Lim knows very well that the struggling Stags would never surrender the title until the dust has settled.
Led by then Finals MVP and now PBA rookie Jimbo Aquino, San Sebastian snapped the four-peat seeking San Beda after sweeping them in the best-of-three finals last year. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)