The Lions and their supporters have a good time on the flfloor after the fifinal buzzer. —PHOTOS BY AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Jacob Cortez slowly went up the ladder, minimize down the online and wore it round his neck as an ornamental badge of honor.
With none particular person awards this season, the artful level guard will worth that piece of memento as a memento on the finish of San Beda’s superb championship run on Sunday within the NCAA Season 99 males’s basketball match.
“It doesn’t actually matter (that I didn’t win any particular person awards). What issues most is profitable the championship,’’ mentioned Cortez after the Purple Lions accomplished the beautiful reversal of the Mapua Cardinals, 76-66, to reclaim the crown they chased for 5 lengthy years.
Making it doubly important and memorable was the truth that the Purple Lions weren’t even within the equation to win all of it proper from the beginning.
“We labored arduous for this since January, and we went by means of rather a lot. However this staff by no means gave up within the face of adversity,’’ mentioned San Beda coach Yuri Escueta.
Pathetic within the first spherical, the Lions roared their method within the second spherical and located themselves with win-twice drawback towards the Lyceum Pirates within the Remaining 4.
They threw the Pirates off the boat in two video games, organising the best-of-three title conflict with the closely favored Cardinals.“We’re used to this sort of setting. We performed no less than six do-or-die video games this season and that made this staff stronger,’’ mentioned Escueta, who was named coach of the 12 months in his second season with the Lions.Two different heroes
Yukien Andrada and James Payosing confirmed what Escueta meant, delivering the killer blows that completed off the Cardinals within the ultimate encounter.
Andrada made the Mapua heartbreak imminent within the ultimate interval, pouring most of his game-high 20 factors in that pivotal stretch because the Lions accomplished the mission witnessed by a sea of 23,077 screaming followers at Sensible Araneta Coliseum.
Operating a constant efficiency all through the sequence, Payosing went to work one final time and ensured the victory—San Beda’s twenty third NCAA crown total—along with his last-minute heroics to grab the Finals Most Priceless Participant (MVP) trophy.
JACOB CORTEZ
“This Finals MVP trophy is only a bonus. Successful the championship is much extra vital,’’ mentioned Payosing after edging Cortez, San Beda’s king lion, for the accolade.
Upon receiving his trophy unexpectedly, Payosing fortunately lifted Cortez, acknowledging his shut buddy’s season-long brilliance that introduced them to the place they’re now.
Each Payosing and Cortez have a number of extra years of eligibility left to duplicate and even triplicate the feat.“Understanding that there’s no extra tomorrow, we gave all the pieces we had, caught collectively, fought arduous and acquired rewarded,’’ mentioned Cortez, who by no means acquired any particular person award however snared the last word prize after main the Lions beginning with their surge within the second spherical of the eliminations.
The sorry script for the Cardinals remained unaltered. Much like their meltdown within the second recreation after gaining headway within the sequence opener, Mapua got here out sturdy within the third quarter solely to fumble within the essential stretches.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please strive once more.
Your subscription has been profitable.
Rookie-MVP Clint Escamis collected many of the particular person awards, however couldn’t pull by means of within the recreation that mattered most, scoring simply 13 factors on an atrocious 4-for-22 taking pictures, almost duplicating his dismal efficiency from the sector in Recreation 2. INQ