San Beda Red Lions

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San Beda Red Lions
San Beda College
San Beda College logo
 San Beda Red Lions logo
League NCAA and WNCAA
Joined 1924
Seniors' general championships NCAA: none
Juniors' general championships NCAA: 10 (1982-83, 1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1993-94, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2002-03)
Location Mendiola, Manila (Srs.)
Taytay, Rizal (Jrs.)
Team colors Red and white
Juniors' team Red Cubs
Women's team Red Lionesses
Staple cheer "Go San Beda fight!" (Lion's Roar),
"Animo San Beda!",
The Indian Yell

The San Beda Red Lions are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines) basketball team of San Beda College.

San Beda is the only founding member left in the league.

The juniors team are the Red Cubs. The women's team are the Red Lionesses and are under the Women's National Collegiate Athletic Association. Although the other senior varsity teams may also be referred to as the Red Lions, there are other more appropriate names for each specific sport. The swimming team are known as the Sea Lions, the Football team the Red Booters, the Chess team, the Red Woodpushers.

Contents

[edit] Name

The San Beda College got their Red Lion emblem from the ancient Scottish/English heraldic symbol, the Red Lion Rampant. The school, named after the Venerable Bede of England, naturally chose the heraldic symbol of the ancient Scots/English for courage. It has been said that the Judeo-Christian roots of the Anglo-Saxon world was preserved by the Benedictines during the Dark Ages through faith and courage. Pope Benedict XVI himself have stated that the Benedictines singlehandedly saved Europe's Christian roots. San Beda pays tribute to the courage of the Benedictine monks by adopting the Red Lion, the symbol of courage in the Catholic tradition and in the land of St. Bede. It has to be noted that the Benedictines are a key part of the history of Great Britain itself. Presently, they have 2 other campuses. One in Alabang (San Beda College Alabang) and the other was recently established in Taytay, Rizal

[edit] Bedan Symbols

[edit] Red Lion and The Ancient Red Lion Rampant

The Red Lion Rampant
The Red Lion Rampant

The practice of adopting a school moniker became both fashionable and an imperative especially for Catholic school named after Saints during the 1940’s in the Philippines. The American Catholic schools started the rage earlier when the clergy became wary of sports headlines such as “ St. Peter mauls St. Paul 80 – 40”. In the Philippines, headlines such as “San Beda whips La Salle” or “San Beda trashes Santo Tomas” drew mixed emotions among the clergy and devout Catholics. “Why would a Catholic saint whip another Catholic saint?”, they would ask.

On July 31, 1940, Fr. Martinez OSB who was probably inspired by English tradition coined the moniker “Red Lion” for the school. Red is the color of courage, of a warrior and a martyr. The lion on the other hand represents dominance, the King of the Jungle. Thus the Red Lion represents the Bedan. Undaunted men and women, ever courageous and magnanimous, vigilant and willing to answer the clarions call for San Beda, country and God.

In the old heraldic tradition, combining RED with the LION symbolizes dauntless courage, bravery, strength, ferocity, valor and magnanimity in victory. In its ancient and traditional form, San Beda's Red Lion is actually the Red Lion Rampant of Scotland which eventually became a prominent English heraldic symbol.

In the Catholic tradition, the Lion is the accompanying symbol of courage.

It may not by mere coincidence that the school adopted the Red Lion/Red Lion Rampant of Scotland as the school symbol. San Beda College was named after a great Benedictine Saint whose country of origin, England, has adopted for its own the heraldic symbol of the Scots, the Red Lion Rampant. It is a historical fact that the history of England in general and of its church in particular, is deeply connected with the history of the Benedictines in that country. St. Bede was one of England’s greatest contribution to the world. The Red Lion of Scotland on the otherhand became a popular and quintessential symbol in England. Thus it can be argued that the Red Lion, rooted in the traditional Red Lion Rampant, is a fitting symbol for the Benedictine School named after the Venerable Bede of England.

[edit] Indian Yell

The San Beda Red Army cheering the Indian Yell
The San Beda Red Army cheering the Indian Yell

The Cuerba brothers, both Bedans, composed the yell in 1947 after the liberation from the Japanese empire. The Indian Yell was initially solely performed on drums accompanied by cheers from the students. However,this made the cheer somewhat lacking in power and needed something to rejuvenate the audience. So they changed the sound of the yell and incorporated a horn section. Accompanied by the tomahawk chop, the Indian Yell became more lively, intimidating and full of spirit.

The Indian Yell is San Beda's romanticized version of the Indian war whoop. It mimics the native Indian war chants and vocalization techniques designed to intimidate the opponent together with the accompanying hand gestures. North American Indian war chants are simply verbalization of tunes that implore the great spirits to help them in battle. The lyrics of Bedan Indian Yell is believed to have been inspired by the great Sioux nation.

The Indian war whoop also gave rise to various derivative chants most especially the Lion's Roar. The Lion’s roar, with the simple "Wooohooo", also mimics primitive chants of Native American Indians. This is an indirect offspring of the Wahoos started by both Dartmouth College and the University of Virginia in the 1890s. Bedans popularized this aboriginal Native American form of chanting in the Philippine collegiate league and has spawned variations now used by many other schools.

The Native Indians symbolize courage and defiance. This is also true with the ancient Scottish warriors and their Red Lion Rampant. From the Old World (Europe), Bedans adopted the Red Lion while from the New World (North America) they adopted the Native Americans. Both are Red and both are symbols of Courage.

The ingredients were actually ripe for an Indian inspired theme to gain popularity and acceptance among Bedans. San Beda College has one of the most prestigious Scouting movements in the country.

Worldwide Scouting and the infatuation with North American Indian cultures grew hand in hand. Indians became one of the major "lure" to recruit boys into the movement. Combining this boyhood infatuation and reinforced by the popularity of “Cowboys and Indian” movies led to the blossoming of an Indian inspired theme in San Beda.

[edit] Little Indians

The Little Indians
The Little Indians

To accompany the Indian Yell, the Little Indians were conceptualized by Ramon Ventoza (. GS '46, HS '51). Mon Ventosa is the longest serving moderator / instructor of the San Beda College Cheering Association. A cheerleader himself during his student days in San Beda College, Mon was appointed as instructor of the College's Cheering Squad (1952 - 1962). He came up with idea to counter the gaining popularity of the dance number of Jose Rizal College.

There were only three Indians in 1947: Gabriel Gasar and the Casal brothers, one of which eventually became a Benedictine monk. Slowly , the recruitment process changed and participation from the grade school pupils rose because many wanted to become Little Indians. Tito Mon wanted the Indians to be stout and adorable. From three Indians since 1947, the membership rose to a minimum of eight in the 90’s.

[edit] Animo San Beda!

Have Courage San Beda! Animo San Beda!
Have Courage San Beda! Animo San Beda!

One of the more popular line in the traditional Bedan cheers is "Animo San Beda".

Bedans use ANIMO to mean COURAGE in their cheers. When Bedans yell “Animo San Beda!” they actually mean “Courage San Beda!/Have Courage San Beda!", faithful to the Spanish idiomatic usage of the word. Animo is a Spanish word which means spirit, energy, vitality, purpose and will. Used as an expression of encouragement by Spanish speaking societies, it means courage or have courage.

Along with the word ANIMO, Bedans also used VIVA (long live) and ARRIBA (hurrah for ...) in their old and traditional Spanish cheer. "Avance San Beda!" and "Vamos!" were also popular then. In the pre-war Spanish San Beda cheer (also known as El Colegio de San Beda Tiene que Ganar!), ANIMO is also included in the said cheer. Even in the traditional English cheer, "Stand on the Grandstand", ANIMO is extensively used. It is a shared belief among Bedans that the popular line "Animo ________, Beat _________" used by other schools as a stand alone cheer, originated from the 1950s Bedan Cheer "Stand on the Grandstand".

The most recent cheer which incorporates "Animo San Beda" is the 1970s SBCA. Said cheer was created in the 1970s to pay tribute to the new addition to the Benedictine community, the Benedictine Abbey School - San Beda Alabang.

[edit] Basketball

Current Roster - NCAA Season 82


  • Aljamal, Yousif Jr. - Forward
  • Angeles, Alexander - Point Guard
  • Antonio, Martin Lloyd - Forward
  • Canlas, Eduardo - Guard
  • Ekwe, Samuel - Center  : NCAA Season 82 MVP and Rookie of the Year; Defensive Player of the Year
  • Escobal, John Paul - Guard
  • Espinosa, Kevin - Forward
  • Evangelista, Micah - Guard
  • Gamalinda, Riego - Forward
  • Hermida, John Carlos Jr. - Point Guard
  • Maggay, Raymond - Forward / Center
  • Menor, Rogemar - Guard / Forward
  • Taganas, Jay-R - Center
  • Taupa, Kristoffer - Forward
  • Tecson, Eduardo Jr. - Forward
  • Head Coach : Enrico "Koy" Banal
  • Team Manager : Mukesh 'Mike' Advani

[edit] History

[edit] End 28 @ 82

This was the battlecry that the San Beda Red Lions used in reference to their quest to conclude the 28 years of seniors basketball championship title drought. The battlecry was a grassroots call to arms that was started in Bedista.com by hardcore Bedans. The slogan slowly gained popularity among Bedans and was eventually embraced by the entire community.

The last time the Red Lions won the championship was against the De La Salle Green Archers in 1978 and earlier against the Ateneo Blue Eagles in 1977 on the strength of a team bannered by Chito Loyzaga, Frankie Lim and Jayvee Yango. On September 22, 2006, they finally managed to get another Championship Trophy after winning the Best-of-Three series against the Philippine Christian University Dolphins. On the way to the championship, the Red Lions displayed its dominant form. After losing its second game against the PCU Dolphins, San Beda went on a 12 game winning streak to finish the eliminations on top of the standing with a 13-1 win/loss card. During their Final Four game against the MIT Cardinals, they managed to come back from a double digit deficit to seal their seat in the Finals. In the championship series, they handily won their first game against PCU before succumbing to pressure and very poor shooting in a blowout loss in game 2. The Red Lions finally showed poise in the winner take all rubber match and won a scintillating one point victory to reclaim the championship trophy that has eluded them the past 28 years.

[edit] Red Cubs

In the early years of the NCAA, it was the seniors team (or the Red Lions) that was able to achieve success by winning some of the early championships. During the last 20 to 30 years of the NCAA, however, the Red Cubs slowly became a competitive high school team in the league. During this period, the Red Cubs won 14 of its 16 NCAA championships and many schools (especially from the UAAP) recruited players from the Red Cubs. Many of the UAAP stars who were instrumental in leading their schools to the UAAP championship had their roots and training with the Red Cubs. These included players like Gerald Esplana, Eric Altamirano, Ren Ren Ritualo, LA Tenorio, Magnum Membrere and JV Casio. Benjie Paras and Ronnie Magsanoc were also part of a University of the Philippines team that included five other Red Cubs that won UP's second championship in the UAAP in 1986.

[edit] Players of note

[edit] Football

More formally known as the "Red Booters", the San Beda football team has been a consistent championship contender for the past few years in the NCAA. The seniors team has won the NCAA championship for the last 6 years and has won a total of 14 championships, second only to De La Salle University in all time wins.

Notable players of note are as follows:

  • Mari Martinez
  • Tony Martinez
  • Pepito Genato
  • Leonidas Duque
  • Olivier Gay
  • Tonio Guttierez
  • Jude Ericsson Roque

[edit] External links


Seniors: Letran Knights | St. Benilde Blazers | JRU Heavy Bombers | Mapúa Cardinals
PCU Dolphins | San Beda Red Lions | San Sebastian Stags | UPHSD Altas
Juniors: Letran Squires | JRU Light Bombers La Salle Greenies | PCU Union Baby Dolphins
San Beda Red Cubs | San Sebastian Staglets | UPHSD Altalettes
NCAA South | List of seasons | Championship events
v • d • e
Collegiate Champions League 2006-07

Champions: University of the East Red Warriors
Second place: San Beda College Red Lions
Third place: José Rizal University Heavy Bombers
Fourth place: Mapúa Institute of Technology Cardinals
Eliminated at the quarterfinals: Ateneo Blue Eagles • Letran Knights • PCU Dolphins • UV Green Lancers
Eliminated at the 1st round: Adamson Falcons • AMACU Titans • EAC Generals • NU Bulldogs • PMI Admirals • St. Francis Doves • UC Webmasters • UST Growling Tigers
Eliminated at the Visayas-Mindanao qualifying: UMind Wildcats • USC Warriors • USJ-R Jaguars • WNC Mustangs

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