INQUIRER Sports

SAN BEDA’S NEW SKIPPER PONG ESCOBAL called his teammates the most talented players in the NCAA seniors basketball tournament.

And on the first game of the season, the Red Lions, bent on winning a third straight crown, flaunted the weapons in their vast arsenal to crush the Mapua Cardinals, 85-56, yesterday at the Araneta Coliseum.

“We have a team of very talented players who are very committed to win,” said Escobal, who issued a team-high eight assists on top of nine points. “We were very disciplined today and very unselfish.”

The talent and discipline were reflected on a 55 percent shooting clip and a plus-16 rebound difference. The unselfishness led to a total of 23 assists.

Lions coach Frankie Lim marveled at the way his team played, but met victory with caution.

“They (Lions) were pretty good. I thought it was going to be close,” said Lim, whose team dominated the Cardinals, despite shooting just two free throws the entire game. “But I don’t expect to have the same kind of games for the rest of the season. We just caught Mapua on a bad night.”

In the second game, the Letran Knights turned to role players Raymar Gutilban and John Melegrito to score an 83-69 decision over the Jose Rizal University in a rematch of last year’s Final Four duel.

“I didn’t expect the team to play with this kind of energy for the entire game,” Knights coach Louie Alas said.

Meligrito, who also grabbed seven rebounds, buried a triple from the left quarter court for 68-53 with four minutes left after the Bombers had sliced the lead to 51-60. He finished with 14 points, the same output as Gutilban.

The scores:
First Game
SAN BEDA 85—Ekwe 18, Menor 12, Escobal 9, Taganas 8, Pascual 8, Gamalinda 7, Hermida 7, Tecson 6, Lanete 4, Tirona 3, Marcelo 2, Taupa 1, Soliman 0, Villanueva 0.
MAPUA 56—Mazo 13, N. Pascual 10, De la Pena 9, Mangahas 6, J. Pascual 6, Mangahas 6, Soriano 5, Banal 4, Cornejo 2, Palomique 1, Sarangay 0.
Quarters: 25-13, 46-29, 68-46, 85-56

Second Game
LETRAN 83—Daa 20, Gutilban 14, Jazul 13, Melegrito 12, Cabonce 7, Foronda 7, Dangcal 3, Belencion 3, Ranises 2, Guevarra 2, Latonio 0, Cortez 0.
JRU 69—Sena 19, Cagoco 9, Nocom 7, Kabigting 6, Hayes 6, Agas 6, Lopez 6, Bulangis 4, Wilson 4, Apinan 2, Pradas 0, Njei 0, Matute 0, Almario.
Quarters: 15-11, 33-26, 57-48, 83-69