The San Beda College Red Lions took advantage of an error-prone Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals squad in an 85-74 win to keep their streak alive, Thursday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Davon Potts was the high-point man for the Red Lions once again, with 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including six triples, to go along with five rebounds. However, it was fellow transferee Robert Bolick who kept the team together throughout the game.
Bolick almost notched the first triple-double of the season, scoring 10 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, and dishing out eight dimes. Moreover, he made the big shots when Mapua were making a comeback.
“Almost (a triple double) di ba? Of course I’m a proud coach,” San Beda head coach Jamike Jarin said about Bolick. “Every time you see a player come up with stats like that ‘di ba. It just shows how selfless this team is.”
Potts paced the Red Lions in the first half, scoring 15 points while knocking down four threes, as San Beda led by 10 entering the second half, 45-35.
The lead further ballooned to a game-high 20 points, 62-42, with 4:34 remaining in the third canto, after JV Mocon knocked down a jumper over the outstretched arms of Allwell Oraeme. Furthermore, the duo of AC Soberano and Donald Tankoua combined for 18 points in the quarter to power the Red Lion machine.
Just as San Beda were about to break away, Jarin tested various line-ups in the final frame. The mixing and matching though did more harm than good as the Cardinals were able to slowly cut the lead in the final frame.
“Well I take full responsibility for that,” the Red Lions’ mentor admitted. “It’s not the players’ fault. It was more on me, too much of experimenting.”
Andrew Estrella sparked the Mapua rally while four straight buckets by Christian Bunag cut the once 20 point lead to just six, 76-70, with 3:38 remaining.
After the two squads exchanged baskets, Allwell Oraeme committed a costly turnover that led to a basket by Bolick to give the Red Lions an 82-74 lead. A dagger triple by Potts, coming from a swing pass by the former Green Archer, sealed the win for the Red Lions.
“You can never teach that kind of character,” Jarin said about the end game poise his team had displayed. “You just try to build that, sa kanila na yun. Credit goes to these young men.”
Allwell Oraeme paced the Cardinals with 21 points and 20 rebounds; however, the reigning MVP committed a personal high of seven turnovers in the game. Andrew Estrella added 14 markers but was as error plagued as his center, committing six turnovers.
San Beda Red Lions (7-0) look to continue their streak on Friday, August 5, against the San Sebastian Stags at 2:00pm. On the other hand, Mapua (5-2) play their penultimate game in the first round on Thursday, August 4, against the Perpetual Altas at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
SBC (85) – Potts 25, Soberano 17, Mocon 14, Tankoua 11, Bolick 10, Presbitero 2, Tongco 2, Noah 2, Alas 2, Bonsubre 0, Oftana 0, Adamos 0, Navarro 0, Carlos 0
MIT (74) – Oraeme 21, Estrella 14, Serrano 9, Raflores 8, Menina 7, Aguirre 6, Bunag 5, Orquina 4, Biteng 0, Eriobu 0, Dela Rosa 0
Quarterscores: 16-20, 45-35, 67-51, 85-74
