San Sebastian Stags a perfect 11; Letran Knights up

Photo by Ejay Amador

MANILA—San Sebastian, unrelenting in the middle quarters, cruised to an emphatic 97-70 victory over Arellano and stretched its unbeaten start to 11 games Wednesday in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament.

Facing a team they also dominated in the first round, the Stags refused to pull their punches with Ian Sangalang, Calvin Abueva and Ronald Pascual doing most of the damage.

Sangalang scattered 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Abueva wound up with another double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Stags, who began pulling away in the second quarter.

“I told them (players) that this is a sprint not a marathon and we can’t relax because somebody is just behind us waiting to take our spot,” said San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson.

Letran also kept its streak going, pummeling Jose Rizal U, 75-56, in the second game for its fifth straight victory.

The Knights broke away late with Kevin Alas and Kevin Racal joining forces in a crippling blitz in the final period to improve to 9-2, half a game behind idle San Beda.

Alas and Racal combined for 15 of the Knights’ 29 points in the fourth quarter to turn an erstwhile close game into a rout.
The Bombers missed starting point guard Alex Almario because of suspension for incurring three flagrant fouls this season.

But seldom-used Ralph Monserat and Philip Paniamogan kept JRU in the game in the first two quarters, which ended at 31-all, before fading in the last two, hastening the Bombers’ fall to their eighth loss in 11 outings .

“We started out flat but we expected that because JRU’s back is against the wall,” said Letran coach Louie Alas.

“I just told them to keep on driving in the lane and get the boards.”
Raymond Almazan also woke up from a lethargic opening-half to finish with nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

Pascual dished out an all-around game of 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists as the Stags followed up their 36-point beating of Perpetual Help with another lopsided victory over the Chiefs.

Leading 23-16, the Stags closed out the first half on a 19-7 tear, before sustaining the binge in the third period, where they outscored the Chiefs, 31-21.

Anthony del Rio, moved from shooting guard to point guard this season, and Jovit Dela Cruz, getting more minutes at the two-spot, combined for 19 points for the hot-shooting Stags, who made 51 percent of their field goals.
Arellano’s rebounding woes continued as the Chiefs were again badly beaten at the boards, 29-48.

In juniors’ play, Letran matched its senior counterpart’s record at 9-2 after downing JRU, 79-67, while San Sebastian trounced Arellano, 75-67, to improve to 6-5.

The senior scores:

First Game
SAN SEBASTIAN 97 – Sangalang 24, Abueva 23, Pascual 17, Del Rio 10, Dela Cruz 9, Miranda 8, Ferrer 4, Balucanag 2, Antipuesto 0, Maiquez 0.

ARELLANO 70 – Zulueta 13, Celada 13, Lapuz 11, Pagayunan 8, Doligon 8, Acidre 8, Salcedo 5, Palma 2, Del Rosario 2, Casino.

Quarters: 17-12, 42-23, 73-44, 97-70

Second Game
LETRAN 75 – Alas Ke. 17, Cortes 11, Racal 10, Cruz 10, Dysam 8, Almazan 7, Belorio 3, Espiritu 3, Pantin 2, Lituania 2, Alas Kr. 2, Cudal 0, Gabawan 0, Gabriel 0, Mendoza 0.

JRU 56 – Matute 15, Villarias 9, Monserat 9, Montemayor 8, Paniamogan 6, Carampil 4, Lopez 22, Kabigting 2, Mendoza 1, Tiongco 0, Dela Paz 0, Apinan 0.

Quarters: 14-18, 31-31, 46-43, 75-56