Hermida shows Lions he's ready for pro league

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda’s Borgie Hermida and Nate Matute of Jose Rizal U came through with clutch performances to help their teams keep their lofty perches in Season 86 of the NCAA.

Hermida, a top PBA rookie draft prospect this year, unleashed his first triple-double performance with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to help the Lions stay unscathed in 10 outings while Matute erupted for 10 triples in his last two games to keep the Bombers at No. 3.

Their strong efforts proved enough to nail them the Accel/Fil-Oil NCAA Press Corps co-Player of the Week honor presented by Terrilicious meat products and Gatorade.

Hermida’s exploits lifted San Beda to a 92-68 bashing of Emilio Aguinaldo, 92-68, Friday and an 89-70 trouncing of St. Benilde Monday when he came through with another all-around performance with nine points, seven assists and three rebounds.

And San Beda coach Frankie Lim was nothing but impressed.

“Borgie is PBA material but I advised him to play hard in his last year because this is going to be his showcase,” said Lim.

 and a he responded to the challenge,” he said.

Matute, who has thrived in the past couple of years and early this season, found his patience paying off after exploding for a total of 37 points the last two games including 10 treys to keep Jose Rizal in contention for a spot in the top two with an 8-2 card.

“He’s getting a nice feel for the game,” said JRU coach Vergel Meneses. “He’s getting more and more confident and I’m happy for him.”

Hermida is making a case not just for the MVP award as well as a spot in the elite Mythical First Team but also for a chance to impress PBA teams in fulfilling his dream of playing there.

“It’s every basketball player’s dream to play in the PBA,” said Hermida. “But my goal right now is to help San Beda win another title,” he added.