Stags eye PCCL semis sweep vs Webmasters

MANILA, Philippines—Already assured of a finals berth, San Sebastian shoots for a sweep of the single-round semifinals against University of Cebu Thursday in the Philippine Collegiate Champions League at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Stags hope to keep their sharp form in the 4 p.m. duel against the Webmasters as they gear up for the championship round where they hold a twice-to-beat advantage.

While the Stags can afford to take it easy after back-to-back victories, UAAP champion Ateneo and NCAA titlist San Beda will still duke it out for the other finals berth on Friday.

The championship match is slated Monday.

“I’m going to tell the boys to win as much as we can and take it from there,” said San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson, whose team will be playing its third game in four days.

The Stags rallied from 12 points down in the final six minutes to nip the Eagles, 70-69, Wednesday with Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang combining for 38 points.

San Sebastian will continue to miss ace guard Ronald Pascual who has been sidelined for the next six months because of an anterior cruciate ligament tear he sustained last Monday against San Beda.

Guards Jovit Dela Cruz and Anthony del Rio are expected to fill the void left by Pascual.

The Webmasters – the Southern islands champion – are hoping to salvage what’s left of their campaign after losses to Ateneo and San Beda eliminated them from the title race.

Junmar Fajardo, still hobbled by an injury on his right knee, will be at the forefront of the Webmasters’ assault. Fajardo had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the 77-83 loss to San Beda last Tuesday.

UC coach Roel Gomez is also pinning his hopes on Edward Pao and Brian Heruela, who combined for 31 points against the Lions.