SBC zaps UE; Ateneo in semis

MANILA, Philippines - Sustaining its fiery form since its conquest of the NCAA crown via sweep, San Beda College overpowered University of the East, 86-64, to cruise into the Elite 8 of the 2010 Philippine Collegiate Champions League at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Red Lions, owner of a historic unbeaten campaign in the 86th NCAA caging, turned to the dominating presence of American Sudan Daniel (20 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks) to dispose of the Warriors and set a quarterfinal showdown with La Salle.

“We want to continue our roll, that’s my challenge to the players. We finished the NCAA without a loss and now we want to finish the PCCL without a loss,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim, who missed only one key member of the championship squad in now pro Borgie Hermida.

Defending champion Ateneo flirted with disaster before scoring a semis-clinching 65-56 win over a hard-fighting Mapua in the other match.

The three-peat UAAP champs, who overhauled a 15-point deficit early on, hit the big shots down the stretch to beat the rugged Cardinals and secure a Final Four berth against University of Cebu.

“We started out flat but fortunately Kirk (Long) stepped up and played one of his better offensive games,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black, who again missed the services of Ryan Buenafe who was attending classes.

After Mapua jumped the gun on Ateneo, 27-12, Long came to the Eagles’ rescue with two triples in a 20-3 counter that gave them the upperhand (32-30) at the turn.

Since then, the highly-physical game was close until Long, Nico Salva and Emman Monfort ignited a lethal 15-0 bomb that put Ateneo safely ahead, 59-49, with 5:02 left.

With Daniel anchoring their defense and Adler dela Rosa and Garvo Lanete taking care of offense, the Lions roared to an 11-0 start en route to a 36-21 bulge after the first 20 minutes.

They took the fight out of the Warriors early on by choking them to a poor first half clip of 18.2 percent while making eight fastbreak points and dominating the boards, 34-23.

San Beda continued to pound UE in the second half as Daniel imposed his will inside, posting huge leads as high as 29 at 79-50 late in the fourth.