By: Rom Anzures
Luis Pablo and Seven Gagate led La Salle Green Hills to its fifth consecutive win, surviving a late-game scare from Jose Rizal University to win 79-69 in the NCAA Season 98 Juniors Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at EAC Gym.
Gagate, who had only scored two points at the end of the first half, scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Pablo tallied 12 points and 14 rebounds.
James Ison contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, while Christian Mesias scored 12.
Jhunehl Discutido, who scored 22 points and grabbed five rebounds for JRU, had a chance to cut LSGH’s lead to just three points after making a three-pointer with 3:08 left in the game, but missed a fast break layup.
This led to Gagate scoring and getting fouled at the other end, extending the lead to 77-69.
Lee Marin scored 13 points and had four assists for JRU, while Zairose Mina scored nine.
In another game, Mapua University beat Emilio Aguinaldo College 86-63, extending the Brigadiers’ losing streak to seven games.
The Red Robins dominated the game, leading from start to finish and establishing a 42-13 lead with 4:45 left in the second quarter.
Mapua’s reserves contributed 52 of their 86 points, with head coach Yong Garcia saying that they gave their third group a chance to show what they could do.
Ricci Santos scored 14 points with five rebounds, while Joseph Manuel contributed 12 points and three assists.
“Talagang binigyan namin ng chance yung mga nasa third group namin para maipakita yung maitutulong nila,” said Garcia.
Mark Mariquit scored 24 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Janray Castillo added 13 for the Brigadiers.
San Beda University also won big, beating Arellano University 82-53 and improving their final four hopes.
After trading leads in the first half, the Red Cubs limited the Braves to just four points in the third quarter, extending their lead to as much as 35 points at multiple points in the fourth.
San Beda head coach Miko Roldan praised his team’s defense, saying that they worked hard and bought into the team’s strategy.
“Nagpakamatay talaga sila especially on defense. Nagba-buy in na sila to what we want to happen. I hope it carries over to the next games,” said the first year Red Cubs coach.
Andrei Dungo scored 20 points and had six assists for the Red Cubs, while John Lopez and Christopher Hubilla contributed 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Ivan Panapaan scored seven points and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Braves, while SJ Moore was limited to 14 points and seven rebounds.
In the standings, Mapua is in first place with a 6-1 record, followed by La Salle at 5-2 and San Beda at 4-3.
JRU is in eighth place with a 2-5 record, while Arellano sits at ninth at 1-6 and EAC is in last place with a winless record of 0-7, virtually eliminating them from final four contention.
The Scores:
First Game
Mapua (86) – Santos 14, Manuel 12, Morenos 12, Catapang 10, Rodriguez 9, G. Dayrit 7, Go 6, Gonzales 4, Mulingtapang 4, Masiglat 3, Agemenyi 2, Coronel 2, J. Dayrit 1.
EAC (63) – Mariquit 24, Castillo 13, Bonafe 11, Dungo 8, Brazil 2, Falsado 2, Bautista 2, Villanueva 1, Bailon 0, Balan 0, Esusan 0, Cuizon 0, Tecson 0, Bartolome 0.
Quarterscores: 27-9, 50-23, 71-47, 86-63
Second Game
LSGH (79) – Gagate 17, Ison 14, Pablo 12, Mesias 12, Alian 7, S. Romero 6, Muyuela 6, Gomez 3, Rivero 2.
JRU (69) – Discutido 22, Marin 13, Mina 9, Pineda 8, Rimas 7, De Leon 3, Enal 3, Guarino 2, Dela Cruz 2, Lozano 0, Anglo 0.
Quarterscores: 20-15, 40-33, 64-51, 79-69
Third Game
San Beda (82) – Dungo 20, Lopez 16, Hubilla 11, Ludovice 7, Lorenzo 7, Mundas 5, Lecciones 4, Sollano 4, Manarang 3, Ronquillo 3, Cañete 2, Lacsamana 0, Reyes 0, Wagan 0, Jomalesa 0.
Arellano (53) – Moore 14, Javier 8, Panapanaan 7, Reguera 5, Mendoza 5, Distrito 4, Yu 3, Mallari 3, Jimenez 2, Ortega 2, Nambi 0, Pondoc 0, Espinosa 0, Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 16-16, 41-31, 66-35, 82-53
