Red Lions still unbeaten

San Beda hammered out a 70-66 victory over bitter rival Letran on Saturday, stretching its unbeaten start to five games in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Cuneta Astrodome.

Rising guard Evan Nelle led the Red Lions anew, finishing with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists as he helped quell a strong Knights rally from 13 points down.

“Well, we were worried about this game because we were playing a strong team like Letran,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez. “They have been playing well, they have won five straight.”

“My players did a good job. I salute them. They really played good defense. Our mantra for this season is play defense first before offense,” he added.

The Lions needed a lot of added effort to end Letran’s own run. Cameroon standout Donald Tankoua pitched in 15 points and four rebounds; Calvin Oftana contributed 11 points, five boards, three blocks and two assists; and James Canlas added another 11 points.

San Beda also responded defensively, holding Letran ace Larry Muyang to just six points and three rebounds while limiting Jeo Ambohot to 2-of-8 shooting from the field. Ambohot wound up with a paltry four points for Letran. Bonbon Batiller, one of the key players in the Knights’ run this season, was a big letdown too as he missed all five attempts from the field and finished with a solitary point.

The Knights were forced to make do with Jerrick Balanza, came through with 20 points and five assists, and Ato Ular, who added 11 points and seven boards for the Knights.

But against a well-stocked San Beda offense, that wasn’t enough.

In another match, struggling Mapua won for the first time in six matches, tripping Arellano, 73-64.

The Chiefs dropped to 1-5.

In the juniors division, Justine Sanchez had 27 points and 10 rebounds while Yukien Andrada added 20 points as San Beda bucked the absence of suspended forward Rhayyan Amsali with a 83-79 triumph over Letran.

In setting up a twin-kill for San Beda, the Red Cubs raised their record to 5-1.