By: Rom Anzures
La Salle Green Hills continued its winning streak with an 87-84 comeback victory over San Beda – Taytay in the NCAA Season 98 Juniors Basketball Tournament, Friday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gymnasium.
Despite trailing by 19 points, 62-43, in the third quarter, LSGH was able to rally and secure the win thanks to the efforts of Seven Gagate, who finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
Christian Mesias also put in a solid performance, with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
LSGH head coach, Renren Ritualo, spoke about the importance of teaching the players about the ups and downs of the season.
“We want to impart to the kids na it’s not always a fairytale. Sometimes we’re down, we’re up, but especially when we’re down, the test of character will be there. I just told them we’d just keep on fighting, we’d just keep on grinding,” said the La Salle legend.
Despite the loss, San Beda still had strong performances from Andrei Dungo, who scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Christopher Hubilla, who put up a 14-point, 15-rebound game before fouling out.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian College – Recoletos secured their second consecutive win with an 81-70 victory against Jose Rizal University.
The Staglets were led by Ernest Geronimo, who had 17 points, seven boards, and nine assists, and Rion Porcadas, who had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Juan Miguel Martin, head coach of SSC-R, praised his team for their performance in the endgame despite some immaturity in their system.
“I think yun yung dapat gawan ng solusyon ngayon, yung how we finish the game. ‘Yun yung number one problem namin kasi nga, immaturity nung system na ginagawa namin. Pero I’m very proud of the team na kahit papano, nagdeliver sila in the endgame,” he said.
On the other hand, Martin Pineda had a strong outing for the Light Bombers with 28 points and 18 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to 2-3 in the season. Jhunehl Discutido also contributed 20 points.
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA got back on the winning track with a 96-81 win against Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Perpetual head coach Gerald Dizon stressed the importance of the win for the Junior Altas, as they needed to remain in the top four to have a chance at the Final Four.
“Kailangan namin talaga yung panalo para nandun pa ‘rin kami sa taas. Di kami pwedeng umilalim ng umilalim kasi wala namang play-in to eh so dapat nasa top four pa ‘rin kami,” he said.
Perpetual showed their urgency in the game, leading by as much as 20 points multiple times in the second half.
Amiel Acido put in a dominant performance with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, while Icee Callangan and Jan Pagulayan both finished with 18 points each. Henry Montemayor and Lebron Daep each contributed 11 points.
Liam Bautista led EAC with 24 points, followed by Mark Mariquit’s 17 points and 10 rebounds.
With their win, LSGH, San Sebastian, and Perpetual all improved to 3-2. On the other hand, San Beda and JRU dropped to 2-3, while EAC remains winless at 0-5.
The Scores:
First Game:
LSGH (87) — Gagate 22, Mesias 16, Ison 13, Alian 10, Gomez 10, Romero 9, Pablo 7, Zaragoza 0, Rivero 0
San Beda (84) — Dungo 16, Hubilla 14, Lopez 11, Mundas 11, Lecciones 10, Lorenzo 7, Cañete 6, Reyes 6, Wagan 3, Romquillo 0, Ludovice 0, Jomalesa 0, Sollano 0
Quarterscores: 17-18, 49-36, 62-72, 87-84.
Second Game:
San Sebastian 81 – Geronimo 17, Porcadas 14, Hernandez 14, De Leon 10, Balbao 8, Danag 5, Jardinico 4, Parba 3, Caysido 2, Bularin 2, Datario 2, Reyes 0, Rojas 0
JRU – Pineda 28, Discutido 20, De Leon 10, Mina 5, Enal 4, Rimas 2, Illio 1, Guarino 0, Natividad 0, Marin 0, Lozano 0, Capistrano 0, Mendoza 0
Quarterscores: 15-12, 40-32, 64-53, 81-70.
Third Game:
UPHSD (96) – Acido 22, Callangan 18, Pagulayan 18, Montemayor 11, Daep 11, Montero 8, Vergara 2, Bernaldez 2, Kress 2, Panelo 1, Ngo 1, Valencia 0, De Ala 0, Canlas 0, Mascariñas 0.
EAC (81) – Bautista 24, Mariquit 17, Villanueva 14, Castillo 8, Dungo 6, Dispo 4, Bailon 4, Falsado 2, Tecson 2, Tenorio 0, Bonafe 0, Cuizon 0, Balan 0
Quarterscores: 23-19, 48-39, 70-57, 96-81.
