By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The La Salle Green Hills high school basketball squad ousted the reigning champions San Beda-Rizal during the do-or-die NCAA Season 98 Juniors basketball semifinals, 89-85, last March 9, 2023, held at the San Andres Sports Complex.
With their season on the line, the green and white nation went toe-to-toe with the defending champions in four grueling quarters and made huge baskets in the last minute of the cardiac duel to book a ticket to the championship game.
LSGH’s twin towers of Luis Pablo and Seven Gagate immediately pounded their way inside San Beda’s shaded lane which gave them an early cushion in the opening quarter.
However, San Beda quickly adjusted and decided to shoot over the taller LSGH squad. Their game plan was simple: Involve either Gagate or Pablo in the pick-and-roll and let their guards switch unto them.
With that kind of adjustment, San Beda was able to find their groove and heated up early in the game, outshooting the paint-oriented LSGH from the three-point line and the perimeter.
LSGH came right back with instant answers as Pablo and Gagate were just unstoppable once head coach Renren Ritualo ran their high-low post play at will.
La Salle had their largest lead of the game at 10 points after burying a three-pointer from the left corner, 53-43, but San Beda refused to be intimated and only needed three minutes to trim their deficit to three points, 58-55.
It was a classic back-and-forth final canto as both squads gave their all, with San Beda superstar Chris Hubilla engaging in a shootout with Pablo and Gagate.
Hubilla’s personal scoring frenzy helped San Beda keep with La Salle’s firepower and even put them up by a point with 4:45 remaining in the slugfest, 74-75.
With only 1:11 remaining and LSGH leading by a point, 80-79, San Beda sank a possible dagger courtesy of Nicko Lorenzo’s three-point bomb for another advantage switch in favor of the red nation, 80-82.
Needing a bucket to equalize or take the lead, the frontcourt chemistry between Gagate and Pablo once again worked like magic for LSGH after resulting in another bucket down the lane.
The biggest trey of the night was then hoisted by Christian Mesias to give LSGH an 87-84 lead with only 29 seconds left.
San Beda had the chance to make one more basket after a costly turnover from James Ison who lost the ball by himself when he was dribbling in the right elbow.
However, Ison made it up in just three seconds when he swiped the ball off San Beda and got fouled with only three seconds left.
Ison iced the game for LSGH after converting both of his shots from the charity stripe, putting a fitting end to their Cinderella NCAA juniors hoops run.
Pablo powered LSGH with 25 big points built from an impressive 10/18 shooting from the field while Gagate added 20 markers.
LSGH spoiled Hubilla’s 37-point masterpiece alongside 14 rebounds and two dimes while Lorenzo chipped in 13 points for San Beda.
With the win, LSGH arranged a highly-anticipated grand finals clash with the smoking-hot Letran squad that eliminated Mapua in the other bracket’s semifinal.
