San Beda poured on the heat in the second half as the defending champion continued putting pressure on an undefeated leader by dismantling Emilio Aguinaldo College, 76-57, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament Thursday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Red Lions stayed undefeated in the second round and, more importantly, stayed half a game behind idle Lyceum, which leads the league with a 12-0 record. San Beda notched its 12th win against a lone loss, which came at the hands of the Pirates in the first round.
The Generals stayed stuck at 11th spot with a 2-10 card, and looked to make a game out of it when they kept the Red Lions within reach, 38-36, after two quarters.
But San Beda opened the second half with nine straight points and the rout was on. The Red Lions outscored the Generals 21-9 in the third quarter to take a 59-45 margin heading into the final period.
Robert Bolick led San Beda with 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals while Javee Mocon added 11 points.
Hamadou Laminou finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Generals.
Dismal campaign
Meanwhile, Jerry Codiñera resigned as Arellano coach in the midst of a dismal 4-7 campaign.
The announcement came as a bit of a surprise considering the way Codiñera had carried the Arellano program to two Finals appearances.
According to the school, Junjie Ablan, who coached the Chiefs during its trial run in the NCAA in 2009, will take over on an interim basis.
Codiñera ends his stint with the Chiefs with a respectable 52-31 record, highlighted by championship appearances in 2013 and 2015.
In Thursday’s other game, San Sebastian kept its flicker of a playoff hope alive after grounding Jose Rizal University, 82-75.
The Stags scored their third straight win to get to a 4-9 record, staying in the 10th spot of the standings, and in the process eliminating the 2-11 Heavy Bombers from the Final Four race.
Allyn Bulanadi lit up for a career-high 27 points with six rebounds to lead the Stags while RK Ilagan put up 16 points and 11 boards.
Alvin Capobres and Michael Calisaan also finished in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while JM Calma was a point shy of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Darius Estrella had 19 points for the Heavy Bombers while Jed Mendoza added 15 points and seven rebounds.