San Beda puts lock on No. 1 spot; Lyceum clinches Final Four berth

JR Isaga

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San Beda puts lock on No. 1 spot; Lyceum clinches Final Four berth

Josh Albelda

Defending champion San Beda keeps its bid for an outright title berth alive as Lyceum also advances to the semifinals

 

 

MANILA, Philippines – The San Beda Red Lions moved closer to an outright finals berth as they outclassed the Mapua Cardinals, 83-55, for their 16th straight win in the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre on Friday, October 4.

James Canlas led with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in the easy win that secured the No. 1 sport for the three-time defending champions.

Calvin Oftana, the league-leading MVP candidate, added 15 markers, 7 boards and 4 assists off the bench with an efficient 5-of-6 clip from downtown. 

Off a back-and-forth opening quarter, the Lions  buried the Cardinals with an avalanche of threes from Oftana, AC Soberano and Evan Nelle in throughout the 2nd frame. 

As the dust cleared, San Beda was suddenly up 12, 38-26, off a Nelle fastbreak layup with 1:09 left before halftime. 

The Cardinals were not able to recover from that point as they fell into a 20-point hole, 37-57, after a JB Bahio layup off a feed from Donald Tankoua near the end of the 3rd.

Lead guard Noah Lugo paced the Cardinals in the losing cause with 14 points and 10 boards. Justin Serrano added 10 markers as the playoff-hunting Cardinals slipped to a 7-8 record just below fourth-placer San Sebastian at 8-6. 

In the other game, the Lyceum Pirates exacted revenge on first-round tormentors EAC Generals with an 83-71 win to clinch their third straight Final Four appearance.

Off just a three-point lead to begin the 4th, Jaycee Marcelino took matters into his own hands and created separation with a personal 6-0 run for the 71-62 gap at the 5:15 mark. 

From then on, Marcelino simply countered any comeback effort the Generals tried to do as he finished with 13 of his 23 points on a 10-of-11 shooting in the payoff period alone. 

Cameroonian big man Mike Nzeusseu, who sat out Lyceum’s previous loss to EAC, finished this time with a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double as the Pirates move up to the playoffs with a 12-3 record. 

Floor generals Marwin Taywan and Jethro Mendoza led the failed upset bid with 16 and 14 markers, respectively, as also-ran EAC slid to 3-12. 

Earlier, the Perpetual Help Altas arrested a five-game skid at the expense of the free-falling St Benilde Blazers with an 85-83 squeaker win. 

As the Altas moved back to the winning column with a 4-10 card, the Blazers still continued their descent towards elimination with their 6th straight loss for a 6-8 record.

Kim Aurin finished the upset win with a career-high 29 points plus 11 boards for the double-double finish.

Carlo Young meanwhile led CSB’s wasted efforts with 20 markers off a 5-of-9 shooting from downtown.

 

 

The Scores

  

First Game 

Perpetual 85 – Aurin 29, Razon 15, Peralta 11, Adamos 10, Labarda 10, Charcos 5, Giussani 3, Sevilla 2, Cuevas 0, Lanoy 0, Martel 0, Tamayo 0. 

St Benilde 83 – Young 20, Gutang 13, Carlos 13, Lepalam 10, Belgica 8, Haruna 5, Nayve 5, Sangco 5, Dixon 2, Naboa 2, Flores 0.

Quarters: 15-17, 33-44, 62-60, 85-83.

  

Second Game

San Beda 83 – Canlas 15, Oftana 15, Nelle 14, Tankoua 12, Alfaro 5, Abuda 4, Carino 4, Cuntapay 4, Noah 3, Bahio 0, Visser 0, Etrata 0, Obenza 0. 

Mapua 55 – Lugo 14, Serrano 10, Bunag 8, Victoria 6, Nocum 6, Gamboa 4, Garcia 3, Bonifacio 2, Dela Cruz 2, Nieles 0 Salenga 0, Aguirre 0, Jabel 0. 

Quarters: 15-12, 38-28, 59-37, 83-55.

  

Third Game 

Lyceum 83 – Marcelino JC 23, Nzeusseu 14, Caduyac 10, Santos 9, Tansingco 8, Marcelino JV 7, David 4, Navarro 3, Pretta 3, Ibanez 2, Valdez 0, Yong 0, Remulla 0. 

EAC 71 – Taywan 16, Mendoza 14, Gurtiza 9, Gonzales 7, Maguliano 6, De Guzman 6, Luciano 4, Cadua 3, Estacio 2, Dayrit 2, Martin 2, Corilla 0. 

Quarters: 14-18, 42-31, 60-57, 83-71.

 

– Rappler.com

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