Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Defending champion San Beda raced to a commanding lead and never letup en route to a 73-45 rout of Jose Rizal University in the NCAA Season 94 men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The Red Lions scored 13 unanswered points at the start of the game and extended their lead to as high as 29 points in the fourth quarter.
“We should be consistent with the we play. They (JRU) simply fought us hard in the second and the third [quarters] and the defense in the fourth as a team made the difference,” said San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez.
San Beda dominated JRU for the second time in just a span of one week after the Lions crushed the Bombers, 77-40, last Tuesday to end their first round campaign.
“I’m happy that we still limited JRU to less than 45 points the whole game and that’s really a testament to our defense,” said Fernandez, whose squad held the Heavy Bombers to just 28 percent from the field.
JRU (2-8) only had four points in the first quarter and eight in the final frame.
Robert Bolick posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds that went with five assists to lead San Beda, which rolled to its ninth win in 10 outings.
Jed Mendoza was the lone Bomber in double-figure scoring with 13 points but even he had trouble finding the bottom of the net, going 5-of-15 from the field.