During the postgame interview, San Beda University Head Coach Yuri Escueta applauded his team’s prowess both on the defensive end and rebounding category after winning against the Lyceum of the Philippines University last November 27 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Staying Locked In Defensively and Rebounding the Ball Well
In their quarterfinal win last Thursday, the Red Lions made sure that the Pirates wouldn’t stand a chance against them as they were able to have a big lead throughout the match.
The Yuri Escueta mentored squad were able to outrebound LPU and limit their offensive production. SBU had a lead as much as 26 points while the Pirates just came close to cutting the lead to single digits.
“Of course, defensively, we were able to reach our goal in 3 of the 4 quarters. Hopefully, we stayed locked in defensively. How the players are locked in, also in our schemes, and also yung ano, rebounding. That’s always a welcome [sight] for me as a coach to be able to rebound well.”
The Red Lions had 59 boards against the 32 of the Pirates. San Beda also neutralised the outside shooting of Lyceum as they only shot 7 of 28 (25%) while the Red Lions shot incredibly well, going for 13 of 32 (40.6%).
Then the 40-year-old mentor joked about the free-throw disparity. Though, considering there isn’t that much of a difference.
“Hindi ko na papansinin yung Free Throw kase kapag pinapansin ko yan nag iiba yan eh.”
San Beda shot actually close to perfect in the line, making 16 of 17 (94%), while Lyceum also was way above average as they went for 10 of 16 (62.5%).
He then said with a smile that their star player, Yukien Andrada, made his shots in this game.
“Saka of course nakaka-shoot si Yuki ngayon.”
The 6-foot-5 centre for San Beda went 7 of 15 from the field, knocking down 6 of his 10 three-point attempts to go along with leading his team in scoring, having 20 points, 3 rebounds and a steal.
The San Beda University will play against the College of Saint Benilde this December 2 (Tuesday) at the SMART Araneta Coliseum at 2:30 PM in a Best of Three semifinals matchup.
