Blazers ready to go all out vs Red Lions

College of Saint Benilde won’t be taking San Beda University lightly when they clash in the Final Four of Season 101 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.

Blazers head coach Charles Tiu said he expects no less than a dogfight when they face off with the Red Lions in Game 1 of their best-of-three semifinals showdown tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 2:30 p.m.

Saint Benilde is oozing with confidence after eliminating defending champion Mapua University, 74-72, in a do-or-die quarterfinal game last Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

“We’ve beaten Mapua, now we have San Beda. I hope this time it’s us,” said Tiu, whose wards finally gained revenge after beating the Cardinals who flattened them in the finals last year.

“This year, San Beda seemed like the best team from the start, so it’s fitting we have to go through them to make it to the finals or win the championship. It doesn’t matter if it’s the finals or earlier — they’re the team we have to face. It just came a bit earlier than we would have wanted.”

With the semifinals now a best-of-three series, Tiu said they need to have a better game plan after losing to the the Red Lions twice in the preliminary round — 85-96 last 1 October and 76-80 victory last 7 November.

“This is my fourth Final Four appearance. How different is this experience? Well, first, it’s a best-of-three. Three of the four times, we had the twice-to-beat advantage, and we took care of business. One time, we lost to Mapua,” Tiu said.

“It’s a series, though. We’re going up against great coaches: My good friend Yuri Escueta, Norman Black on the other side, Coach Boyet Fernandez, and even Coach Andre (Santos).”

“Their coaching staff is solid. We’re expecting a chess match, but we’ll come prepared, make adjustments based on our two games against them, and hopefully, our boys will respond.”

Saint Benilde will have their eyes on San Beda’s athletic rookie Janti Miller, who dropped 18 points in their 91-67 victory over Lyceum of the Philippines University in the quarterfinals last Wednesday.

The Lions will also lean on team captain Yukien Andrada and Bismarck Lina, who scored 20 and 15 points, respectively, in the game that sent them to the Final Four.

On the other hand, Saint Benilde will rely on quarterfinal heroes Raffy Celis and Ian Torres while reigning Most Valuable Player Allen Liwag as well as veterans Tony Ynot and Shawn Umali are expected to step up.