Behind Arvin Tolentino’s lights-out shooting, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws were able to escape with an 80-77 win over the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, to go to 2-0 in Group B of the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup presented by Chooks-to-Go, Wednesday evening.
Up by just a solitary point, Tolentino nailed the dagger jumper to put the fiery Knights at bay. The former UAAP Rookie of the Year finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.
But beyond their offense, second-year Tamaraws head coach Olsen Racela was proud of how they defended Letran’s potent firepower.
“More than that I was really happy with how we defended dun sa crucial moments. They hit two long threes na challenged. Yun gusto yung namin. They didn’t get kickout passes because we were really shrinking the floor,” Racela said.
The Knights, who dropped to an even 1-1 record, were led by Bong Quinto with 23 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Continuing to surprise, Warren Bonifacio and the Mapua University Cardinals were able to knock off another favorite, this time picking up an 87-82 win over the National University Bulldogs.
Rookie Bonifacio powered the Cardinals, who are now 3-0 in Group A, with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Cedric Pelayo added 17 markers.
The returning JV Gallego paced the 0-2 Bulldogs with 16 markers off the bench.
With Joe Silva sitting on the sidelines, the University of the East Red Warriors routed the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals 73-59 in the first game.
Alvin Pasaol towed the debuting Red Warriors with 31 big points to go along with 13 boards. Philip Manalang added 23 markers.
Wanting to get retribution for their loss to the same school just yesterday, RK Ilagan and the San Sebastian College Recoletos Golden Stags blasted the eight-men Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates, 74-51.
The day was not over for Pirate Yancy Remulla after the game however. After playing 31 minutes, he had to do double-duty, as he was Lyceum’s representative to the Hanes 1-on-1 Kings of the Hardcourt tournament. But Remulla fell to La Salle’s Miggy Corteza, who won with an abbreviated score of 16-7.
The Scores:
First Game:
UE (73) – Pasaol 31, Ph Manalag 23, Bartolome 6, Gagate 5, Varilla 4, Cullar 2, Guion 1, Gallardo 1, Conner 0, Pa Manalang 0, Acuno 0.
EAC (59) – Maguliano 16, Mendoza 12, Tampoc 8, Fuentes 6, Natividad 5, Cruz 4, Corilla 2, Martin 2, Garcia 2, Cadua 1, Diego 1, Gonzales 0, Robin 0, Neri 0, Estacio 0, Altamirano 0.
Quarterscores: 19-16, 36-29, 56-41, 73-59.
Second Game:
MU (87) – Bonifacio 25, Pelayo 17, Victoria 13, Biteng 8, Jabel 8, Lugo 8, Aguirre 2, Serrano 2, Bunag 2, Pajarillo 2, Salenga 0.
NU (82) – Gallego 16, S Ildefonso 15, Gaye 14, Clemente 11, D Ildefonso 7, Mosqueda 6, Aquino 5,Galinato 5, Menina 3, Diputado 0, Joson 0, Yu 0, Sinclair 0, Oczon 0, Tibayan 0, Mangayaom 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 45-34, 66-56, 87-82.
Third Game:
SSC-R (74) – Ilagan 14, Costelo 10, Calma 8, Calahat 8, Sumoda 7, Bulanadi 4, David 4, Cossari 4, Isidro 3, Valdez 3, Calisaan 2, Vinas 2, Baytan 2, Capobres 1, Villapando 1, Risma 1, de la Cruz 0, Desoyo 0.
LPU (54) – Salo 12, Pericas 11, Remulla 11, Barbero 11, Mahinay 6, Guinto 2, Liwag 1, Ibanez 0.
Quarterscores: 18-10, 33-19, 51-33, 74-54.
Fourth Game:
FEU (80) – Tolentino 17, Escoto 13, Comboy 12, Tuffin 9, Orizu 9, Ebona 7, Cani 5, Ramirez 4, Nunag 3, Inigo 1, Bayquin 0, Stockton 0, Parker 0.
CSJL (77) – Quinto 23, Balanza 14, Muyang 8, Calvo 6, Fajarito 5, Agbong 5, Yu 5, Batiller 4, Taladua 3, Ambohot 2, Celis 2, Balagasay 0, Mandreza 0, Galvelo 0.
Quarterscores: 13-19, 34-37, 57-53, 80-77.
