With their quarterfinal hopes on the line, and with leading scorers Jerick Fabian and Michael Calisaan sidelined, the duo of Regile Ilagan and Alvin Capobres combined for 19 fourth-quarter points in the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags’ 82-72 win over the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons Friday afternoon.
Regile Ilagan led the Stags with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. Capobres and Ryan Costelo, on the other hand, scored 12 and 11 points respectively in the win.
“They definitely showed character this game,” said San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya about the win. “Nag-step up lalo na yung mga hindi namin gaano nagagamit nung past games. Hopefully, madadala namin sa NC ito.”
Fabian, who scored ten first half points, had to be taken to the sidelines in the third frame. After a fastbreak play by Fabian, Noah Webb went for a block, but Fabian was not able to break his fall, resulting in whiplash. Results were negative but “nahihilo pa rin ako,” he said.
The Stags were up by just three points, 56-53, entering the final frame. Slowly, San Sebastian was able to extend their lead to ten, 69-59, with 7:02 remaining after threes by Ilagan and Allyn Bulanadi. The Stags rally continued afterwards with Capobres scoring six straight points to extend their lead to a game-high 75-59 with four minutes remaining.
“We have to build up on defense. Lahat naman sila nakaka-score but right now we are trying to build up a defensive team sa Baste,” Macaraya said. “Most of the players have potential and are magagaling.”
With the game out of reach with a minute left, Paul Desiderio and Costelo had a light on-court scuffle, with the former being penalized with an unsportsmanlike foul while Alvin Baetiong, who went to the court from the bench, was ejected from the game.
The Stags were able to force 23 turnovers against UP, that led to 20 turnover points that proved to be the difference in the game.
“Sa laro namin ngayon, wala naman yung stats sa amin. Lahat kami nandun sa sistema,” said Fabian, who is still recovering from the whiplash he sustained. “Kung ano ang binigay ni coach, nandun na lahat. Lahat kami na bibigyan ng opportunity.”
Paul Desiderio led UP once more with 26 points. Jett Manuel added ten markers, but committed a horrid eight turnovers in the game.
UP will finish their 2016 Premier Cup stint with a 2-5 slate. San Sebastian (A, 4-3) will have to await the winner of the UPHSD-CSB tilt. If Perpetual wins, SSC-R is eliminated while an Altas loss gives them fourth seed.
The Scores:
SSC-R (82) – Ilagan 16, Capobres 12, Costelo 11, Fabian 10, Bulanadi 9, David 6, Gayosa 6, Baetiong 4, Serajosef 4, Johnson 2, Valdez 1, Mercado 1, Quipse 0, Miguel 0.
UP (72) – Desiderio 26, Manuel 10, Dario 5, Lao 5, Romero 5, Webb 4, Tekoudjou 3, Bederi 3, Harris 2, Vito 2, Jaboneta 2, Sablan 2, Abarcar 2, Lim 1, Moralde 0, Battad 0, Longa 0, Espanola 0, Asilum 0.
Quarterscores: 16-17, 36-35, 56-53, 82-72.
