Stags trip Bombers, grab NCAA top spot

Jaymar Paras of SSC goes for a shot off Anthony Benavides of JRU, at the San Juan arena. INQUIRER PHOTO/AUGUST DELA CRUZ

MANILA, Philippines — After surviving an opening-day thriller, San Sebastian bucked another late scare to grab the solo NCAA lead with an 88-81 decision of Jose Rizal University Wednesday at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Stags, coming off a nail-biting 85-83 upset of Letran last Saturday, nearly blew a 28-point advantage, but held on in the final five minutes for a 2-0 start in the men’s basketball tournament CJ Perez fueled the Stags’ hot start before hitting the key baskets in the closing minutes to finish with 29 points on an impressive 12-of-19 shooting clip.

Perez also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out a couple of assists. In the first game, Emilio Aguinaldo College opened its campaign with an 81-72 victory over St. Benilde.

“We trust each other, so we know we could dig our own hole and get out of that,” coach Topex Robinson said of his Stags, who survived a huge JRU rally that sliced their 28-point cushion, 67-39, to just seven, 77-70.

John Tayongtong knocked in 14 points for the Generals, who closed out with a 22-10 blast for a 66-54 edge. Jack Arquero also had 14 with six Generals finishing in double figures.

“I told them that we must have a good start because we used to start slow before piling up wins,” coach Gerry Esplana said of his Generals, who just fell a rung short of the Final Four last season.

The Stags pulled off a 14-0 start behind Perez, Bradwyn Guinto and Michael Calisan.

The lead quickly ballooned to 20 points, 24-4, as the Bombers shot a miserable 3-of-18 in the first quarter.

But just when the Stags looked poised for an easy win, the Bombers rallied in the final period starting with a 15-0 outburst behind Philip Paniamogan and Abdul AbdulWahab.

The Bombers came within seven, 77-70, before a Perez three-point play gave the Stags a double-digit cushion anew, 80-70.

Guinto finished with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Stags, while Jovit dela Cruz dropped 11 of his 13 markers in the second half.

The scores:

First Game

EAC 81—Tayongtong 14, Arquero 14, Aguilar 13, Jamon 13, Happi 12, Serrano 11, King 2, Onwubere 2, Saludo 0.

ST. BENILDE 72—Saavedra 20, Romero 14, Grey 10, Sinco 7, Taha 7, Ongteco 6, Bartolo 5, Nayve 3, Jonson 0, Argamino 0, Deles 0.

Quarters: 16-12, 33-35, 66-54, 81-72

Second Game

SAN SEBASTIAN 88—Perez 29, Guinto 14, Dela Cruz 13, Calisaan 10, Fabian 6, Yong 6, Balucanag 4, Ortuoste 4, Aquino 2, Alvarez 0, Pretta 0, Costelo 0, Santos 0, Mercado 0.

JRU 81—Paniamogan 21, Teodoro 17, Asuncion 13, AbdulWahab 10, Benavides 8, Mabulac 6, Manuel 4, Lasquety 2, Sanchez 0, Salaveria 0, Muñez 0, Balagtas 0, Grospe 0.

Quarters: 24-7, 45-33, 72-49, 88-81