Defending champion San Beda grabbed second seeding in Group A of the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup as expected on Friday after destroying Emilio Aguinaldo College, 75-48, at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Red Lions held the Generals to five first quarter points and never looked back, finishing the elimination round with a 6-2 record to snatch No. 2 over idle La Salle via the winner-over-the-other rule.
“The players simply played their game from start to finish,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
Kemark Cariño led the Lions with 11 points while Toba Eugene had a double-double effort of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
San Beda dominated the boards with 60 rebounds, 26 coming in the offensive end which resulted in 23 second chance points.
College of St. Benilde scored an 87-79 win over San Sebastian to top Group B with a 7-1 record.
Justin Gutang scored 17 points to lead the Blazers.
In the other match, University of Santo Tomas rallied late to turn back Arellano, 82-73, and exit the tourney on a high note.
Renzo Subido had 30 points off the bench, highlighting his performance with the dagger four-point play with 6.6 seconds remaining.—MA. ANGELICA D. GARCIA, IVAN RUIZ L. SUING AND JUSTIN ROBERT VALENCIA, TRAINEES