After a 61-64 heartbreak against the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags displayed their trademark run-and-gun system against the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, scoring 22 points off the break to gain a 76-68 win, Wednesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
San Sebastian, who played without skipper Ryan Costelo due to a one-game suspension, leveled their slate to 1-1, while Saint Benilde dropped to 1-1 in Group B of the Premier Cup.
“Parang may similarity yung laro namin sa Benilde. Pareho kaming maliliit. During practice we do traps also kaya alam din namin how to break it,” said second year San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya, as they were able to force San Sebastian to commit 31 turnovers in the game.
“Maganda din depensa namin kaya less yung nashoo-shoot nila kaya hindi sila nakaka-trap,” he added, as Saint Benilde had been limited to a 41 percent clip.
Michael Calisaan and Allyn Bulanadi scored 15 points each with the former grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. Sophomore RK Ilagan had 13 points and was able to dish out eight assists.
And when the troika did their damage in the third frame, they did it on both ends. The Golden Stags were able to limit the Blazers to just 13 third quarter points while erecting a game-high 23-point lead after a pair of Ilagan free throws with 1:33 left.
“Sinunod lang namin yung sinasabi ni coach na break lang yung press nila,” Bulanadi said.
An 8-0 rally by Benilde, capped by two straight buckets from Bryeo Bunyi, sliced San Sebastian’s lead to 12 with 8:08 remaining. However, a series of turnovers by Benilde and baskets from Alvin Capobres and Jason David restored order for San Sebastian.
Edward Dixon paced Benilde with 11 points and six rebounds, while Filipino-American forward Yankie Haruna chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.
San Sebastian will next face the EAC Generals on Wednesday, May 17, at 11:15am. TY Tang and the Saint Benilde Blazers will take on Franz Pumaren and the Adamson Soaring Falcons on Sunday, May 14, at 1:30pm.
The Scores:
SSC-R (76) – Calisaan 15, Bulanadi 15, Ilagan 13, David 12, Capobres 8, Calma 5, Navarro 3, Valdez 1, Mercado 1, Gayosa 1, Baetiong 0, Are 0.
CSB (68) – Dixon 11, Haruna 10, Mercado 8, Naboa 8, Young 6, JS Domingo 6, San Juan 5, Leutcheu 4, Bunyi 4, Sta. Maria 2, JJ Domingo 2, Castor 2, Velasco 0, Pili 0, Johnson 0, Arellano 0, Suarez 0.
Quarterscores: 12-14, 34-26, 59-39, 76-68.
