By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
“Never underestimate the heart of a champion.”
This will be the San Beda Red Lions’ battlecry as they are expected to go through the proverbial eye of the needle when they clash with College of St. Benilde in the semifinals of the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Due to their struggles in the elims, the third-seeded defending champions are the clear underdogs against the second-seeded College of St. Benilde Blazers.
And they have to beat the Blazers twice in their series to book a championship berth.
Also, the Mendiola-based squad has not beaten St. Benilde in their two elimination meetings — a 70-65 loss in the first round and a 72-60 defeat in the second — while also nursing a three-game losing skid at the end of the prelims.
Still, other teams are openly admitting to avoiding San Beda in the crossover semis, knowing that once the Red Lions gain their full strength, they could be unstoppable.
In fact, San Beda is in a similar situation as the last season, where they beat Lyceum twice after also being seeded third in the Final Four, and then bouncing back from a Game 1 loss to beat Mapua in their best-of-three title series.
San Beda coach Yuri Escueta believes his stalwarts could pull off another impressive run, but for now, their focus is to keep healthy after some of his players missed their last assignment due to injuries and exhaustion.
“We have to prepare. Main key is for us to be healthy first, then take it one game muna,” Escueta said.
