Amer, Lions feast on Cardinals
BASER Amer shot perfectly from beyond the arc early to spark San Beda’s ruthless whipping of Mapua, 89-55, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at Filoil Flying V Arena.
The Red Lions grabbed a share of the 2-0 lead with Amer impressively firing 6-of-6 from three-point range for 18 points in the first half before finishing with 21 markers on top of five assists.
“I did challenge my boys after our game againt JRU,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez, noting that the defending champions shot a paltry 19 percent from the three-point area in their first game. “I told them to do extra shots [in practice] and it showed. We shot 52 percent.”
Earlier, Lyceum picked up its first victory in two games with a 74-70 upset of last season’s finalist Letran.
Amer, whose game-high output all came from beyond the arc, accounted for half of the Lions’ 14 triples.
Anthony Semerad and Ola Adeogun also came through for the Lions in dealing a 34-point beating to the hapless Cardinals, who lost by exactly the same deficit against Perpetual Help, 57-91, last Monday.
“I’m happy with the way our boys played,” said Fernandez. “Our zone defense really worked.”
Dexter Zamora and Guy Mbida, meanwhile, delivered in key stretches as the Pirates also pinned a second straight loss on the Knights.
“It’s all about mental toughness,” said Lyceum coach Bonnie Tan.
Zamora finished with 16 points after fueling the Pirates’ turnaround from a 13-21 deficit to a 39-35 halftime advantage.
The scores:
First Game
LYCEUM 74—Zamora 16, Baltazar 15, Mbida 15, Ko 10, Bulawan 6, Gabayni 5, Soliman 3, Taladua 2, Maconocido 2, Pamulaklakin 0, Lesmoras 0, Elmejrab 0.
LETRAN 70—Racal 13, Gabawan 11, Singontiko 11, Publico 11, Cruz 6, Quinto 5, Luib 3, Castro 2, Ruaya 2, Tambeling 2, Dela Peña 2, Nambatac 2, Calvo 0, Apreku 0.
Quarters: 13-21, 39-35, 55-52, 74-70
Second Game
SAN BEDA 89—Amer 21, A. Semerad 15, Adeogun 10, Dela Cruz 10, Sara 6, Pascual 6, Mocon 4, D. Semerad 4, Tongco 4, Abatayo 3, Mendoza 2, Abude 2, Solera 2, Koga 0, Cabañag 0.
MAPUA 55—Saitanan 15, Ariobu 13, Estrella 9, Gabo 4, Biteng 3, Isit 3, Tubiano 3, Cantos 3, Canynay 2, Layug 0, Galoso 0, Serrano 0, Magsigay 0, Villasenor 0, Medina 0.
Quarters: 25-18, 50-32, 71-42, 89-55
