NCAA: San Beda bounces back, rips EAC for first win

San Beda’s James Kwekuteye. NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—San Beda cruised past Emilio Aguinaldo College, 85-56, to tally its first win in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at San Juan Arena.

After losing their season opener to Mapua, 66-55, on Sunday, the Red Lions vented their ire on the Generals to barge into the win column.

“Our first game, we lost big. We wanted to bounce back huge because it would be ugly if we went down 0-2  so we really bounced back today for the team,” Winston Ynot said after dropping 12 points in the victory.

San Beda imposed its will early and led by as many as 41, 53-12, in the first half.

After the Red Lions went on a blistering 32-7 start in the first quarter, they added insult to injury by unloading an 18-3 run, extending their lead to 40, 50-10.

Two more players scored in double digits for San Beda with James Kwekuteye scoring 15 and Yukien Andrada adding 13.

Joshua Tolentino tallied 16 points and five rebounds while King Gurtiza ended with 10 for EAC.