Eagles, Lions feast on foes, book semis berths

Ateneo and San Beda took care of its respective opponents and advanced to the semifinals of the Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) on Saturday at Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Blue Eagles, the reigning UAAP champions, brushed off NCAA king Letran, 79-61, to keep intact its unblemished record at 3-0 in the Challenge stage of the competition.

Dwight Ramos and Troy Mallillin had 16 points apiece and combined for 13 rebounds to lead the Blue Eagles, while SJ Belangel added 10 points.

Ateneo came out of the locker room held to a halftime deadlock at 35 before outscoring the befuddled Knights in the third quarter, 30-4, to erect a massive 65-39 spread.

In the first game, the NCAA runner-up San Beda repulsed UAAP silver medalist University of Santo Tomas, 77-68, to finish with a 2-1 card.

James Kwekuteye filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals even though he struggled from the field, where he went 5-of-19.

But the Lions had enough to hold off the Tigers, who dropped to 1-2 in a tie with Letran.

CJ Cansino came through with a solid performance for the Tigers, piling up 21 points and nine rebounds, while Brent Paraiso added 12.