THE San Beda College Alabang (SBCA) Red Lions engaged in a fierce fight against the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Dragons in the Men’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (MNCAA) last Apr. 22 at the SBCA Complex with a final score of 71-57, in favor of Red Lions.

The Red Lions was led by the first five players: James Matthew Castillo (IV-BSA), Jake Capulong (IV-BSBA-MM), John Fabros (IV-BSE), Gian Samonte (II-BSBA-MM), and  James Christian Yu (IV-BSBA-MM), the team captain. They started the game strongly by holding the lead in the first quarter of the game against UA&P.

Yu, who also plays the team’s small forward, shared the team’s effort in executing their gameplay against UA&P, “Yung core namin [for this game] is [to] just be better as a team… Ngayon lang kami nakalaro since [the] pandemic so medyo konti lang yung preparation.” He also added that their main focus was proper execution.

The second half marked a twenty-two point lead from the Red Lions with a three-point shot from Zyrus Amora (I-BSE), ending it with the score of 42-24.  The Red Lions proved to dominate as the game entered into the third quarter. However, the Dragons managed to cut down the lead to ten points in the fourth quarter. This did not stop  the Red Lions as they defended well and extended the score interval with two-point shots in the last minutes of the game to assure themselves of the win.

During the interview, Yu describes the dynamic of the team throughout the game, “We’re having fun throughout the game, we execute, we keep our heads up. Teamwork talaga yung nagdala samin.” He also mentioned that the team’s performance still has room for improvement. Overall, after a two-year hiatus on the court, SBCA’s basketball team is thrilled to recover and secure a victory at home.