MANILA, Philippines – For the first time all season, the San Beda College Red Lions have suffered back-to-back losses in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

A poor start against the Jose Rizal University (JRU) sent San Beda into a 34-56 deficit heading into the halftime break. This lead grew to as big as 27 before the Red Lions' late rally in the fourth quarter made the final score more respectable, 97-88.

It was San Beda's second straight loss in the second round, following a 97-101 setback to Mapua Institute of Technology in double-overtime last week. It was also their third loss in four games.

The Red Lions won just one game since center Donald Tankoua was ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to a torn ACL.

"Noong first round namin, sobrang hype kami," team captain Dan Sara said after their loss. "Tapos ngayon, biglang nagtatalo kami."

"But we're not giving up," he stressed. "Back-to-back losses – wala pa, may chance pa kami. There's still an opportunity to be on top."

(READ: JRU blasts San Beda into first losing skid since 2014)

The Red Lions have an 11-4 record, and their defeat means that the Arellano University Chiefs now hold the top spot in the league standings.

Sara did not deny that there is some frustration on their part – "Sobrang silent namin sa dugout," he revealed – but he made it clear that the Red Lions are moving past their loss to JRU and thinking of their upcoming games instead.

"Hindi pa end ng season namin," he said. "We'll just prepare for Lyceum, Perpetual, and Arellano."

To end their skid, the Red Lions will have to find a fix for the slow starts that have plagued them at times this season. In previous games, they have shown that they were capable of clawing their way out of big deficits, but against the Heavy Bombers, the hole proved to be too deep.

"We tend to relax," Sara admitted. "After that we came back, but… it's part of the game naman. Hindi ko alam kung pagod kami or ano, pero siguro, ever since sa start, nabigyan namin ng kumpyansa ang JRU kaya sila lumayo."

The absence of Tankoua is a factor, Sara conceded, but he made it clear that their slow start to games are more to blame than any lack of personnel.

"We are preparing for that (Tankoua's absence)," he said. "Pero 'yun nga, 'yung start namin, doon talaga. It all boils down sa start ng game."

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