San Beda locks down EAC, rolls to 3rd straight win

Defending champion San Beda locked down on defense in the third quarter en route to a 61-46 rout of Emilio Aguinaldo College Tuesday to stay undefeated in the NCAA Season 94 men’s basketball tournament.

The Red Lions shook off a slow start and shut down the Generals, who only scored eight points in the third period.

Robert Bolick led all scorers with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field on top of six assists and two steals as San Beda strung up a third straight victory.

“I’m happy with the way the boys played. It’s our defense that really stepped up today,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez, who celebrated his 47th birthday on Monday. “We knew EAC is a really good third quarter team and we held them to eight points.”

“We also know EAC is one of the best rebounding team in the league and we limited them to 33. We limited Laminou to just two rebounds the whole game,” said Fernandez, referring to the Generals’ center Hamadou Laminou.

Laminou, who entered the game averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds, finished with only nine points and two boards.

Putting premium on consistency after an up and down first three games, St. Benilde sustained its play from start to finish to pound Jose Rizal University, 81-66, in the other game.

Cameroonian center Clement Leutcheu posted 20 points and 14 rebounds while Yankie Haruna added 15 points, including nine in the third quarter for the Blazers, who evened their record to 2-2.

“Before the game, what I told the guys was about consistency,” said Blazers head coach TY Tang, whose squad came off a sorry loss to defending champion San Beda in a game the Blazers blew. “We’re a young team and we haven’t really played together that long.”

Leutcheu scored 10 points in the second period where the Blazers created separation and never looked back.

Mapua survived a fiery fourth quarter fightback by Arellano, 91-83, to stop a two-game slide in the nightcap at Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Cardinals blew an 18-point lead before making crucial baskets down the stretch to keep the Chiefs behind.

“After our loss last game we really gave our double effort in practice to get our intensity up,” said Mapua’s third-year guard Laurenz Victoria, who scored nine points and provided stability in the backcourt amid Arellano’s rally.