San Sebastian College-Recoletos halted Emilio Aguinaldo College’s momentum, picking up a massive 86-70 stunner to re-enter the win column of the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
It was the Golden Stags’ most impressive win so far this season, upstaging their 72-59 win over Jose Rizal University five days ago.
“Napakalaking bagay noon na magtiwala kami sa bawat isa. Alam mo naman sa kahit anong bagay, ang importante ay nagtitiwala ka. You cannot do something kung walang tiwala sa iyo yung mga nasa paligid mo,” said first-year Golden Stags head coach John Kallos as his team rose to 3-4 to rise to seventh in the 10-team league.
“Pag nagtiwala kami, doon lang sa core namin, sa pamilya namin, mas maraming magtitiwala pag kami mismo nakita ng tao nagkakaroon kami ng support sa bawat isa. Yun yung importante, siguro yun yung keyword namin ngayon, win or lose, nasa likod niya ako, nasa likod ko siya.”
The Golden Stags controlled the tempo for most of the match as Raymart Escobido and James Una picked apart the Generals’ defense. They led by as much as 11 points at the end of the second quarter after a three-pointer from Escobido gave them momentum heading into halftime.
San Sebastian’s lead increased to as much as 19 points in the fourth quarter after a pair of free throws from Escobido, pushing the score to 71-52 with 7:05 left in the game.
The Generals managed to cut the Golden Stags’ advantage down to as low as 10, but they quickly ran out of firepower as San Sebastian came away the victory.
Escobido orchestrated the Stags’ offense, dropping 23 points with four triples and a 53.3-percent shooting rate from the field.
Jessie Sumoda added a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Una had 13 points and seven boards.
Romel Calahat also nearly achieved a double-double with a statline of nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and three steals, doing it all for the Stags.
The Golden Stags are scheduled for a match against Colegio de San Juan de Letran next on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
The Generals, on the other hand, saw their two-game winning streak snapped to fall to 4-3 — tied for fourth with the Heavy Bombers.
King Gurtiza was once again the top scorer for the Generals with 20 points and four triples. JP Maguliano provided some help with his 14 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists.
Ralph Robin had 13 points for EAC but shot inefficiently at 26.7% as he struggled against the Stags’ defense. Nat Cosejo then contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for his squad.
They will look to recover from their loss in their game versus College of Saint Benilde on Friday at 2:00 p.m.
The Scores:
San Sebastian 86- Escobido 23, Sumoda 14, Una 13, Calahat 9, Are 7, Re. Gabat 7, Desoyo 6, Ra. Gabat 5, Felebrico 2, Shanoda 0
EAC 70- Gurtiza 20, Maguliano 14, Robin 13, Cosejo 12, Ochavo 2, Bacud 2, Quinal 2, Tolentino 2, Angeles 2, Cosa 1, Balowa 0, Umpad 0, Luciano 0, Ednilag 0
Quarterscores: 19-13, 42-31, 62-49, 86-70
