On November 28, during the postgame interview, College of Saint Benilde Head Coach Charles Tiu was finally relieved that, at least for once, they could be the ones to eliminate their arch rivals, Mapúa University, headlined by Clint Escamis, after winning against them as they reached the Final Four of the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball.
Charles Tiu – “Clint was our number 1 priority, him and Cuenco.”
For the last 2 NCAA games of the Season 99 Finals MVP, the CSB Blazers were able to totally shut Clint Escamis down.
For context? Escamis went 0 of 16 from the field and only scored 5 points all of which from the free throw line in the entire quarterfinals matchup.
In the postgame interview, the 4-year CSB mentor admitted that Clint was their priority on the offensive end as well as his teammate Marc Cuenco.
“Clint was our number 1 priority, him and Cuenco. I mean, as I said, we still have nightmares from last year. It’s still in my head how they basically killed us in the Finals, those 2 guards. We didn’t want to let it happen again.”
Cuenco exploded for 17 points, drilling down 4 out of his 8 three point makes to go along with 5 rebounds, an assist and a steal as he did it all in the 2nd half. In the first half? He was scoreless.
Coach Charles then noted how the scoring burst from the 23-year-old almost became the reason why would be eliminated from contention again.
“Obviously si Cuenco ang galing talaga, almost again torched our team. But again, we were able to escape. But finally, kami naman ang nakapag-out sa kanila for once.”
Credits to the Swiss Army Knife of CSB Blazers, Raffy Celis
The two-time runners-up Head Coach then gave credit to the teams’ Swiss Army Knife, Raffy Celis.
Tiu said this win was possible due to the tremendous defense displayed by their 6-foot-3 guard/forward against both Escamis and Cuenco.
“Well we put our best defender on him. Tip my hat off to Raffy Celis also he was the one guarding for the most part and he was our leading scorer for today so he’s also one of the guys that I really challenged yesterday. He didn’t have any focus into our first game, he wasn’t himself, he played nervous but today he came up big and I think its the guards that defended Escamis.”
Not only did Celis neutralize the best player of the defending champions, but he also had an incredible game in their must-win matchup.
Celis had 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal along with the victory to move on to the semifinals.
The win also ended Benilde’s frustrations after being eliminated by Mapua in the last two seasons, including the championship sweep in Season 100.
It also secured the Blazers their fifth straight Final Four appearance, four of which have come under Tiu, while giving them a chance to return to the finals for the second consecutive year.
Charles Tiu – “If it were the old format, San Beda would’ve had the Twice to Beat Advantage.”
Considering that being in this position is no stranger to the brand new model and endorser of Daily Fantasy, Coach Charles then admitted that the biggest difference of this year’s tournament format is that the Final Four doesn’t have a twice to beat factor any more, it’s a series now.
“Well, the first difference is a Best of Three [series]. 3 of the 4 times we were the twice to beat, we had a twice to beat advantage and we took care of business right away, the other time was when we lost to Mapúa. Being a Best of Three, I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing but I guess now its good because if it were the old format, San Beda would’ve had the twice to beat advantage.”
Even prior to the start of Season 101, it had already been revealed to the public that the NCAA would change their format and would have a Play-In tournament.
Far from what the people were used to having, which was the Final Four playoffs wherein the Top 2 teams would have the twice to beat advantage in the semifinals.
The 36 year old head coach then pointed out how great of a coaching staff the San Beda Red Lions have, considering how most of these people are close to him or were his previous mentors.
“So in a way, maybe blessing na rin sa amin but its a series right? And were going up against coaches. Good friend of mine Yuri Escueta, he’s [also] got Norman Black, one of my mentors on the other side [and then] Coach Boyet [Fernandez]. Solid ng coaching staff nila. So we’re expecting a chess match but we’ll come prepared.”
Tiu then ended the postgame interview, assuring that he and his boys will be prepared for the semifinals clash between them and the Red Lions come December 2.
“We’re going to make adjustments in the 2 games that we played against them and hopefully our boys would respond. You know its also been an emotional games against San Beda both time around but we’ll be ready. I’m confident in our team.”
For the 2 games CSB played SBU, the Blazers lost both games. The first time was back on the opening day of Season 101 last October 1 with a score of 96 to 85. While the second meeting between the green and red happened on November 7 when the Red Lions fully stopped a late game rally of the Blazers to get the 80 – 76 victory.
The Best of Three Semifinals match between San Beda University versus the College of Saint Benilde will begin this December 2 (Tuesday) at the SMART Araneta Coliseum at 2:30 PM.
