Calvin Oftana and the San Beda University Red Lions continued their tear in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball tournament, outclassing the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, 88-57, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Oftana, a fourth-year forward out of Dumaguete City, was unstoppable in the game, scoring a career-high 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting to go along with nine rebounds and two steals.
“Pati ako nagugulat sa ginagawa niya,” said decorated San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
With Oftana taking charge, San Beda cruised to a double-digit lead early and never looked back.
“Sa totoo lang I’m really worried about this game. It was a tough game vs LPU and laro agad ng Friday. Come to think of it. CSB has been playing well,” remarked Fernandez as San Beda limited Benilde to just nine first quarter points. “Medyo kinakabahan ako sa magiging reaction namin in the first part. But I’m happy that my players who are starting to play well, and there are players who are solid coming off the bench. “
San Beda would lead by as much as 31 points in the contest.
Besides Oftana, AC Soberano continued his heater run, scoring 14 points spiked by four triples in his second straight double-digit outing.
James Canlas and Evan Nelle tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, and four assists; and eight points, six assists, three steals, and three rebounds, respectively.
With the win, San Beda notched its 22nd straight win, eighth straight for the current season. Benilde, on the other hand, dropped its second straight game after starting with a 5-0 slate.
Justin Gutang paced the Blazers with 10 points, seven assists, and five rebounds while Jimboy Pasturan had 10 markers as well.
Yankie Haruna was held scoreless by San Beda for the first time this season. The senior forward still had six rebounds and three assists.
TY Tang was ejected with just six seconds left in the first half after a physical confrontation with a referee. Charles Tiu took the cudgels to coach the Blazers in the second half.
The Scores:
SBU (88) – Oftana 27, Soberano 14, Canlas 11, Nelle 8, Tankoua 7, Doliguez 5, Bahio 4, Visser 4, Abuda 2, Etrata 2, Alfaro 2, Cuntapay 2, Cariño 0, Obenza 0, Noah 0.
CSB (57) – Gutang 10, Pasturan 10, Nayve 8, Leutcheu 7, Naboa 6, Sangco 6, Flores 4, Carlos 3, Dixon 2, Belgica 1, Haruna 0, Young 0, Lepalam 0.
Quarterscores: 20-9, 44-25, 67-39, 88-57
