St. Claire ends FilOil campaign on high note with win over Mapua

MANILA, Philippines – The St. Claire Saints finished their 2014 FilOil tournament campaign on the positive side, holding on late to beat the Mapua Cardinals, 85-81, on Wednesday afternoon, May 28, at the San Juan Arena.

With their win, the Saints ended their tournament performance with a 2-4 win-loss clip, while Mapua dropped to 1-5 – dead last in their group, pending the result of Friday’s game between RP-Youth U18 and Letran.

After the game, St. Claire swingman Marte Gil, who led his team with 17 points, talked about how his club made it a point to leave everything on the table heading into today’s contest.

“Sa huling laban namin na ito, binuhusan namin lahat,” he said.

(In our last match, we gave it all.)

Gil received aid from Jason Ibay, who also scored 17 points. Raymond Jamito pitched in as well, contributing 12 markers and five rebounds.

On the other hand, Andrew Estrella, who submitted 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting, spearheaded Mapua while Josan Nimes and Joseph Eriobu registered 15 and 14, respectively.

“First of all, pasalamat tayo sa panginoon,” said the head coach of St. Claire after the game “May tiwala ako sa players ko kahit ganyan yung ginagawa nila,” he continued, referring to his squad’s near late collapse.

(First of all, let’s give thanks to The Lord. I trust my players even if they had some mistakes.)

When asked what else the team can do to improve, he added: “Leadership nalang. Yung mga point guard ko, kailangan mature na eh.”

(It’s only leadership now. My point guards, they need to mature.)

The Saints got out to an early advantage from the opening tip, establishing an 11-point lead, 25-14, after the first quarter. 

Though St. Claire forced Mapua to only six total turnovers, they took advantage of the glass, outrebounding the Cardinals, 40-29, and getting more second chance points, 15-4.

Mapua went on a late rally towards the end of the game, but a couple of defensive stops helped the Saints eke out the victory.

“It’s fortunate we’re here in FilOil. The guys are very excited. And syempre, yung experience, we gained a lot. We’ve very thankful for including us here,” mentioned St. Claire vice president Dr. Ernesto Adalem moments following his club’s triumph. He also said that the FilOil tournament can expect to see the Saints back again next season.

Scores

St. Claire: Gil 17, Ibay 17, Jamito 12, Dulalia 11, Acebron 8, Bolos 8, Fabien 5, Ibarra 3, Managuelod 2, Lunor 2

Mapua: Estrella 29, Nimes 15, Eriobu 14, Bitteng 11, Cantos 6, Gabo 6, Layug 0, Isit 0, Saitanan 0, Serrano 0

Quarter Scoring: 25-14, 47-36, 68-57, 85-81

– Rappler.com