Lions, Dolphins, Knights gain Final 4

San Beda took lowly St. Benilde lightly and nearly paid dearly for it, needing an extra period to fashion out a come-from-behind victory over the stubborn Blazers, 55-48, yesterday and clinch the first slot in the Final Four in the 82nd NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Rogemar Menor, back after serving out a one-game suspension in a 77-60 win over San Sebastian last week, came through with his season-best 18 points as San Beda stretched its win run to eight and ninth overall in 10 games for the solo lead.

"He used that suspension as his motivation to play well, " said San Beda coach Koy Banal of his sophomore guard who was a former high school MVP.

"I’m just glad he played his best when the team played its worst," he added.

Making clutch plays at the end of regulation and in overtime, the Lions scrambled past Blazers, who pounced on the league leaders‘ uninspired game to seize control early and into the fourth quarter in a low-scoring ballgame.

With Martin Urra on the firing end, the Blazers gave the Lions a dose of their own defensive medicine, holding down the Mendiola-based cagers to a season-low three points in the first quarter while scoring 12 points of their own.

St. Benilde led by as many as 12 points, 31-19, early in the third quarter, before San Beda fought its way back to tie the count at 41-all.

Nigerian phenom Samuel Ekwe, who posted the league’s only triple-double effort in a win over Jose Rizal two weeks ago, scored as the Lions seized its first lead of the match, 43-41, with over two and a half minutes to go but couldn’t score the rest of regulation.

Last year’s finalist Philippine Christian U, on the other hand, also claimed an outright semifinal seat while giving defending champion Letran (8-1) a free-ride to the Final Four by downing San Sebastian, 81-71, in the second game.

Former Rookie-MVP Gabby Espinas scored 23 points to lead the Dolphins, who improved to 8-2. The Stags dropped to 3-7.