San Beda wins ‘Battle of Champions’
THE SAN BEDA Red Lions upended the Ateneo Blue Eagles, 63-61, in the much-anticipated battle between the two champions of the country’s two premier collegiate leagues in the 2012 Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup last Saturday at the Arena in San Juan City.
The NCAA champions Red Lions seized the lead in the fourth period behind a sizzling rally that brought them back from a 16-point deficit. They outscored the UAAP titlists Ateneo, 24-13, in the final canto, to get the win and grab the lead in the standings with a 3-0 )win-loss) mark.
Nigerian big man Ola Adeogun scored seven points at the start of the final period that got San Beda within two, 46-48, before Ateneo stayed afloat behind the shots made by Greg Slaughter and Kiefer Ravena.
However, the dam finally gave way for Ateneo as San Beda wingman Julius Armon stole the ball and hit a jumper for a 58-57 lead.
A freethrow by Adeogun and a basket by Ateneo’s Juami Tiongson tied the game at 59-all but San Beda had more poise down the stretch as Baser Amer hit four free-throws that gave them the lead for good.
Adeogun paced San Beda with 16 while Amer scored 12 of his 14 markers in the final stanza. Slaughter led Ateneo with 24 points and 13 rebounds./Correspondent Jonas Panerio
