Red Lions set biggest rout of season

MANILA — Back to its old form, San Beda pummeled Emilio Aguinalado College, 103-62, Friday to post the most lopsided victory in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament this season.

The defending champion Lions attacked relentlessly behind a running game that was missing in their surprisingly narrow win against St. Benilde, 79-78, last week.

San Beda coach Frankie Lim said the 41-point blowout—the highest since San Sebastian ran away with a 40-point win also against EAC, 106-66, last year—was a response to the challenge he hurled at his team.

“After our game against Benilde, I challenged the team to come back to its old self,” said Lim as his Lions joined the idle Stags on top at 5-0.

“That [win over St. Benilde] was not a very San Beda game. I just had to make them realize that we’re going to win games by running. This is our game. We scored about 60 points in running alone.”

St. Benilde bucked Perpetual Help’s sizzling shooting in the final period for an 88-83 triumph in the second game at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Juan Paolo Taha and Carlo Lastimosa helped keep the Blazers afloat as the Altas knocked in 18 of their 27 fourth-quarter points from three-point range.

“It was good that we were able to recover,” said coach Richard del Rosario after the Blazers snapped a two-game slide for a 2-4 card.

Garvo Lanete paced the Lions with a season-high 32 points, 15 from beyond the arc, that went along with five rebounds and four steals.

Rome dela Rosa had 17 points and dished out four assists, while Dave Marcelo and rookie Baser Amer chipped in 11 markers each for the Lions, who have been crushing opponents by an average of 20 points since their perfect 18-0 title romp last year.

The Lions overwhelmed the Generals in practically every department, including on fastbreak points (34-10) and points off turnovers (26-6).

“We were just very patient on defense,” said Lim, “I wanted them to be aggressive, to be running back and forth.”

Taha led the Blazers with 18 points, while Jan Tan and Lastimosa combined for 28 markers.

The Generals dropped to 2-3, while the Altas absorbed their fifth loss in six outings.

The Red Cubs also streaked to their fifth straight win by dumping the Brigadiers, 87-59.

The Junior Blazers kept solo second at 5-1 as Mario Bonleon posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 boards in an 88-48 rout of the Altalettes.

The senior scores:
First Game
SAN BEDA 103—Lanete 32, Dela Rosa 17, Amer 11, Marcelo 11, Lim 10,Caram 8, Semerad A. 4, Pascual K. 4, Koga 2, Pontejos 2, Semerad D. 2, Villahermosa 0, Sorela 0, Pascual J. 0.
EAC 62—Jamon 13, Yaya 11,Cubo 11, Torralba 10, King 7, Vargas 7, Sanchez 2, Juliano 1, Paguia 0, Morada 0, Diolanto 0, Chiong 0.
Quarters: 18-15, 52-35, 77-49, 103-62
Second Game
ST. BENILDE 88—Taha 18, Tan 15, Lastimosa 13, Romero 11, Grey 10, Altamirano 9, Sinco 5, Dela Paz 4, McCoy 3, Pate 0, Deles 0.
PERPETUAL 83—Thompson 23, Paulino 12, Allen 12, Vidal 11, Alano 6, Elopre 6, Asuncio 5, Sumera 4, Arboleda 3, Sison 1, Parico 0.
Quarters: 18-22, 36-40, 60-56, 88-83