READY FOR WAR
Yuki Andrada will play his last two games in the NCAA, in the Finals no less and against a foe hated by the San Beda Red Lions the most.
Andrada tossed in 27 points built around seven triples and led the Lions to an 84-81 nipping of College of St. Benilde in the rubber match of their semifinal series in Season 101 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
San Beda thus earned a shot at a 24th league title and Andrada, the chance to sing his swan song against a Letran side that will come into Game 1 of the series on Wednesday a bit more rested.
And coach Yuri Escueta couldn’t have asked for a better setting for his graduating cornerstone.
“Yuki deserves to play in the Finals (series) against Letran in his last season,” Escueta said. “He didn’t even need to come back this season after our elimination last year. Right after that game, he said he’ll return.
“And I made it a personal mission to give Yuki the best final season of his college career.”
San Beda and Letran have been intertwined since the early years of the league. They own one of the most enduring rivalries in all of sports in the country.
It’s a rivalry that is as pretty as it is sometimes ugly, as faithful fans from both schools have, in the past, taken their emotions all the way to the streets.
Escueta knows this. And he is bracing his charges for another physical series that will have alumni from both sides involved.
“’Yan ang kagandahan ng NCAA—wala ang UAAP nito,” Escueta told the Inquirer. “I’m sure about it. Things will happen, so the commissioner should prepare.”
Three crowns back
Just how historic is the rivalry between San Beda and Letran? The Knights are three titles behind in the all-time championship count and will come into the series with cooler heels after having made the Finals by sweeping top-ranked Perpetual Help last Wednesday.
Escueta is urging his boys to keep their focus on the court and not on the possible pandemonium outside of it.
“I’ll just tell them to focus on their goals,” he said. “The goal now is to get Game 1 on Wednesday.”
Andrada has been at the forefront of the Lions’ quest, and when it mattered most on Sunday, he delivered some of the game’s biggest buckets.
To see action for Magnolia in the PBA after the series, Andrada dropped a triple at the 3:23 mark for 81-77, before canning two free throws with under 30 seconds left for what turned out to be the final count.
Agjanti Miller returned after missing Game 2 and finished with 26 points, six rebounds and two steals.
Tony Ynot scored 18 points alongside five rebounds and four assists for the Blazers. Reigning NCAA MVP Allen Liwag recorded 10 points and eight rebounds in a losing effort. He now turns his attention to the Southeast Asian Games with Gilas Pilipinas.
San Beda will meet Letran in a best-of-three Finals series for the first time since 2019 and Escueta is just savoring the chance.
“Being part of a rivalry game is a blessing. Not everyone gets to play in rivalry games and like I always tell my team, just have fun,” he said. “Basketball is a sport; you have to compete and enjoy everything you do.”
