San Sebastian College-Recoletos compounded onto the abysmal season of also-ran Colegio de San Juan de Letran as it led the match from start to finish, dominating with a 94-75 revenge win in the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
The disposed champions earned their only victory of the season over San Sebastian in round 1 after a 71-86 victory.
And that served as a motivating factor for the Stags to come into the match seeking the same level of dominance Letran showed them in the first match.
“Sabi nga nung coaching staff kanina, hindi puwede matalo kami. Kailangan namin bumawi kasi kami rin nagbigay ng first win sa Letran, so the players responded well doon sa challenge na binigay sa kanila ng mga coaches, and I give credit sa mga players kasi talagang sumunod sila until the end. They fought hard hanggang sa dulo,” shared head coach John Kallos after the final buzzer.
The Stags simply had too much firepower for the Knights to handle, especially without the services of their two point guards.
Kurt Reyson missed his second game due to injury, while Nick Fajardo was stretchered off the court in the first quarter.
The Stags pushed the pace as their persistent offensive attack overwhelmed the Knights early on, with Baste taking a 17-point lead in the second quarter, 27-44 after a layup from Reggz Gabat.
They continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal in the second half as the Stags’ lead ballooned to a whopping 29 points in the fourth quarter, 74-55 after a layup from Rafael Are with 7:09 to go.
At that point, Baste’s advantage was too high to overcome as they ran away with the victory without conceding the lead to Letran in the entire game.
After the game, Kallos shared that the absences of Letran’s guards had little effect on their game plan.
He also expressed his faith in his team to achieve the same results even against a fully healthy Knights squad.
“Actually wala naman kami, kung nandiyan sina Kurt Reyson, yung players ko naman talaga malaki yung tiwala ko sa kanila eh. They can play kahit sino kalaban nila eh.” said Kallos.
“May mga pagkakamali lang kami as a team, yun lang siguro yung sistema namin dahil unang taon namin, kaya medyo nangaapa pa rin up to now, but they responded well today and that’s why nakuha namin yung panalo.”
The Stags had five players who scored in double-digits in an impressive all-around offensive effort to secure the win.
Are led the game in scoring with 23 points, four rebounds, and six assists, while Romel Calahat added 21 points of his own.
Alex Desoyo and Reggz Gabat chipped in with 13 points apiece, while Tristan Felebrico flirted with a double-double, recording 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Stags increased their record to 5-9 for the season, but they are still far from where they need to be if they hope to make it to the final four.
Their next challenge will be against the College of Saint Benilde on Sunday, at 10:00 AM.
Jay Garupil paced the Knights’ offense with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Meanwhile, Kobe Monje and Rafael Go added 13 points each.
The Knights continued to struggle their way through the season as they fell to 1-13 at the bottom of the standings. Their next game will be against Jose Rizal University next on Saturday, at 3:00 PM.
The Scores:
San Sebastian 94– Are 23, Calahat 21, Desoyo 13, Re. Gabat 13, Felebrico 10, Escobido 7, Una 6, Sumoda 1, Shanoda 0, Chuidian 0, Velasco 0, Singson 0
Letran 75- Garupil 16, Monje 13, Go 13, Cuajao 8, Javillonar 8, Ariar 6, Bautista 4, Fajardo 3, Bojorcelo 2, Batallier 2, Nunag 0, Jumao-as 0, Brilliantes 0, Santos 0
Quarterscores: 25-22, 51-38, 70-50, 25-24
