SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The LPU Pirates and the Mapua Cardinals remained neck and neck at the top of the NCAA Season 99 men’s basketball tournament after emerging triumphant against their respective foes at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Sunday, November 5.
Led by Enoch Valdez, the Pirates overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit and hacked out a hard-earned 85-79 win over the also-ran Letran Knights.
Valdez was one rebound shy of a double-double as he tallied 18 points and 9 boards, while Mac Guadana also produced 18 markers on 4-of-7 clip from beyond the arc.
Like Guadana, John Bravo was also locked in from long distance, nailing three of his five three-point attempts to finish with 17 points for LPU, which rose to a 10-3 record.
On the other side, Deo Cuajao saw his game-high 24-point output on 6-of-11 shooting from deep go down the drain as the cellar-dwelling Knights suffered their 12th loss in 13 games.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals redeemed themselves from their loss to the Pirates last Friday, November 3, with a 70-63 victory against the San Sebastian Stags.
Warren Bonifacio tallied an all-around stat line of 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals to lead the Cardinals, while Marc Cuenco and Jopet Soriano added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Clint Escamis, who erupted for 25 points in Mapua’s previous outing, was held to a woeful 3-of-12 clip from the field, but still managed to fill up the stat sheet with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals.
For the Stags, Romel Calahat paced the team with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Mapua tied up LPU at 10-3, while San Sebastian fell to third to the last place with a 4-9 slate.
In the curtain-raiser, the San Beda Red Lions returned to their winning form and snapped their two-game losing skid with an 81-71 drubbing of the EAC Generals.
It was a total team effort for the Red Lions as five players scored in double-digits, with Jacob Cortez leading the charge with 15 points.
James Payosing chipped in 14 points, Clifford Jopia and Aaron Royo contributed 13 apiece, while Jomel Puno had 11 for San Beda, which tied the CSB Blazers in the standings at 8-4.
Nat Cosejo, meanwhile, topscored for EAC – which slipped to 7-6 – with 18 markers.
The Scores
First Game
San Beda 81 – Cortez 15, Payosing 14, Jopia 13, Royo 13, Puno 11, Tagle 6, Visser 6, Andrada 3, Alfaro 0, Cuntapay 0, Gonzales 0.
EAC 71 – Cosejo 18, Robin 14, Gurtiza 10, Maguliano 10, Quinal 5, Ochavo 4, Tolentino 3, Luciano 2, Loristo 2, Umpad 2, Angeles 1, Bacud 0.
Quarters: 22-9, 37-28, 57-47, 81-71.
Second Game
LPU 85 – Valdez 18, Guadana 18, Bravo 17, Umali 7, Montano 6, Villegas 6, Omandac 6, Cunanan 5, Penafiel 2, Barba 0, Aviles 0, Fuentes 0.
Letran 79 – Cuajao 24, Monje 20, Go 8, Santos 6, Nunag 6, Fajardo 5, Batallier 4, Jumao-as 4, Garupil 2, Ariar 0.
Quarters: 25-23, 41-45, 56-68, 85-79.
Third Game
Mapua 70 – Bonifacio 15, Cuenco 12, Soriano 11, Hernandez 8, Escamis 7, Recto 7, Dalisay 6, Igliane 4, Bancale 0, Morenos 0, Fornis 0, Asuncion 0.
San Sebastian 63 – Calahat 18, Felebrico 15, Are 8, Ra. Gabat 8, Desoyo 7, Sumoda 4, Una 4, Escobido 2, De Leon 0, Shanoda 0, Castor 0, Aguilar 0
Quarters: 12-11, 23-26, 51-45, 70-63.
– Rappler.com
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