Ammar Cosari lifted San Sebastian College-Recoletos in overtime, taking the 100-96 victory from University of Santo Tomas in the Group B of the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup on Tuesday night in San Juan City.
The Golden Stags (2-1) broke their tie against the Growling Tigers (1-2), taking the fourth spot in their group.
Cosari came alive in the extension, scoring seven of his nine points in the said period to send the Stags to back-to-back wins.
“Well, sabi na nila ni coach Belo, mag stick lang sa gameplan which is yung defense muna. Well nag’pay off naman, maganda yung depensa namin simulan nung overtime, then nag sunud-sunod, pati yung offense sumunod na. Kasi yung mantra namin defense first then offense will follow,” said assistant coach Louie Bautista.
He added, “Siguro mas gagandahan pa namin yung depensa namin kasi may mga lapses kami sa transition. Dun sa mga ball screen nila, dun sa mga open shots nila. Siguro yun, aadjust pa kami dun.”
After trailing almost the entire game, UST took the lead with 52 seconds remaining in the final quarter, thanks to back-to-back triples from Bryan Santos that gave them the 85-83 advantage.
Rhinwil Yambing, though, answered back with a fastbreak layup to tie the game at 85, good enough to force the overtime period.
Six players finished with double digits for San Sebastian.
Alex Desoyo paved the way with 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Cris Shanoda finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, with four assists.
Cosari flirted with a double-double of nine points and nine rebounds, together with three assists.
Kean Baclaan and Nic Cabanero led the Tigers both with 16 points, with the former adding four rebounds, six assists and a swipe; while the latter had four boards.
Santos added 14 markers, including those clutch baskets in the fourth, to go with five rebounds
The Golden Stags will take on De La Salle University (3-0) on Sunday at 7 PM, while the Growling Tigers will face its sister school Colegio de San Juan de Letran (2-1) on Thursday, 5 PM.
The Scores:
San Sebastian 100 — Desoyo 13, Are 11, Re. Gabat 11, Yambing 10, Escobido 10, Shanoda 10, Cosari 9, Felebrico 6, Paglinawan 6, Suico 4, Garcia 3, Ra. Gabat 3, Barroga 2, Sumoda 2
UST 96 — Baclaan 16, Cabanero 16, Santos 14, Crisostomo 9, Mantua 9, Manalang 8, M. Pangilinan 7, Gesalem 5, Lazarte 4, Concepcion 4, Garing 3, Herrera 1, Canoy 0, R. Pangilinan 0, Escobido 0
Quarterscores: 28-23, 48-47, 69-64, 85-85, 100-96
