Putting up a tougher defensive stand in the second half, the defending champion San Beda Red Cubs overwhelmed the San Sebastian Staglets, 69-51, last night to move within a victory of clinching their 20th NCAA basketball juniors championship at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Arvin Tolentino and Joshua Caracut combined for 37 points, but it was Javee Mocon who anchored the Red Cubs’ interior defense in the second half that helped limit San Sebastian to just 21 points in the last two quarters.
The 6-foot-2 Mocon also finished with 15 points on top of 17 rebounds in what coach Britt Reroma described as a “game-changing” performance.
Suffocating defense
Collectively, though, the Cubs were superb, hardly giving the Staglets room to operate offensively with their suffocating defense.
In a clear indication of San Beda’s air-tight stand, no San Sebastian player scored more than seven points.
“I think our defense in the third quarter turned out to be the key,” said Reroma, after the Cubs held the Staglets to just eight points in the third period to pull away from a tight contest.
“We focused more on defense and put pressure on their ball carriers where their plays were coming from,” he added.
Record haul
The win pushed the Cubs closer to extending their record haul in the league and their first championship “four-peat.”
Just like their first two meetings this season, San Sebastian kept it close in the first half with Onyok Velasco, the son of the Atlanta Olympics boxing silver medalist, leading the way for the Stags with seven points in 14 minutes.
But Velasco went cold in the second half, just like the rest of the Staglets, who were held to 7-of-31 shooting in the last two quarters.
The Staglets sorely missed big man Jon Macasaet who was out due to a bout with chicken pox. Without the wide-bodied Macasaet, the Cubs had their way inside the paint, coming away with a 49-39 rebounding edge.
The Cubs slowly peeled away early in the third period with Mocon hitting seven straight points off putbacks and layups to extend a two-point lead to 48-38 heading into the final quarter.
Finishing touches
Tolentino and Caracut put the finishing touches to the victory with the two former national youth players hitting critical baskets in the decisive breakaway.
With the Cubs leading, 53-45, Caracut banked in a triple with 4:05 remaining, before Tolentino made four of his team-high 20 points inside the last two minutes to help seal the win.
“Our job is not finished yet because San Sebastian is capable of coming back,” said Riroma.
The scores:
SAN BEDA 69—Tolentino 20, Caracut 17, Mocon 15, Inigo 7, Abude, Abatayo 2, Gumtang 2, Macapayag 1, Diputado 0, Tongco 0, Furaque 0, Brujan 0, Devilleres 0, Romero 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 51—Velasco 7, Escalambre 7, Navarro 7, Calisaan 6, Yong 6, Costelo 6, Gatdula 5, Gayosa 3, Magno 2, Masco 2, Santos 0, Malamug 0, Loor 0, Causon 0.
Quarters: 15-15, 32-30, 48-38, 69-51