MANILA—San Sebastian’s troika wreaked havoc anew as the Stags turned back underachieving Mapua, 71-66, to remain atop the heap Wednesday in the 87th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Ian Sangalang dominated down low with a game-high 20 points—10 in the fourth quarter—to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks for San Sebastian, which hiked its unscathed slate to 8-0.
Top MVP candidate Calvin Abueva followed up his triple-double with another beastly performance of 17 points, 15 boards and five assists while flashy swingman Ronald Pascual added 13 markers.
Sangalang, the six-foot-six beanpole, sparked a fourth period surge that gave the Stags the leverage they needed to stymie the surprisingly below .500 Cardinals, who reeled to their sixth setback in eight stints.
Second-stringer Dexter Maiquez sank a mid-range jumper to give SSC its biggest lead at 68-58 while Sangalang and Pascual hit three free throws to put the finishing touches in the game.
San Sebastian, which clashes with defending champion San Beda on August 19 for a much-anticipated rematch of last season’s finals, got its hands full as Mapua remained in striking distance for the majority of the match.
The Cardinals, considered as preseason favorites, had the chance of making it a one possession contest but Allan Mangahas’ floater rimmed out.
Mangahas looked primed for another big game after exploding for 11 first half points but the shifty point guard eventually cooled off in the second half as he was limited to just three points by the stifling San Sebastian defense.
Fil-Palestinian Yousef Taha paced Mapua with 16 points, including an out-of-nowhere putback slam that pushed Mapua to within four, 58-62, with 3:38 left.
The six-foot-seven banger also hauled down 12 rebounds but struggled at the defensive end containing match-up nightmare Abueva.
The workhorse Abueva leads the league in scoring and rebounding at 21 points and 11.7 boards a game while also getting his teammates involved averaging five dimes a contest—good for second place so far.
The scores:
SAN SEBASTIAN 71—Sangalang 20, Abueva 17, Pascual 13, Maiquez 8, Dela Cruz 6, Del Rio 5, Miranda 2, Antipuesto 0, Vitug 0, Ferrer 0.
MAPUA 66—Taha 16, Mangahas 14, Nimes 13, Ighalo 9, Parala 7, Ranises 3, Sarangay 2, Banal 2, Chien 0, Cantos 0.
Quarters: 17-18, 30-34, 49-46, 71-66