San Beda-Rizal managed to pull away from rivals and defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 88-72, to secure their first win in the NCAA Season 99 Juniors’ Basketball Tournament on Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
As the Red Cubs were determined to bag their first win of the season, the result was never in doubt.
San Beda’s advantage even grew to as much as 24 in the one-sided affair.
The Red Cubs also shot an impressive 44.7-percent from beyond the arc as their 17 threes provided more than half of their entire output.
“We knew they were gonna come back strong, but we were prepared and kept our composure,” said San Beda coach Miko Roldan regarding their key in routing Letran for the first time in five years.
San Beda was coming off an 83-79 loss to San Sebastian on opening day last Saturday.
Coming off a season-ending injury in the previous year, Kirk Cañete proved to be pivotal for San Beda. He posted a game-high 24 points, with eight rebounds and five assists.
“Kailangan ko talaga mag-step up, sobrang special ito na maipakita ko sa lahat kung ano ako,” the 17-year old guard shared.
On the other hand, Cebuano Jonathan Manalili notched 18 markers and six assists for the Squires.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian, Perpetual, and Mapua kept their clean slate at 2-0, with decisive victories over LPU (101-62), EAC-ICA (93-85), and LSGH (89-73), respectively.
Despite a gutsy last-minute comeback attempt by the Brigadiers, a dagger by Xedric Diaz with 1:44 left sealed the game for the Junior Altas.
Mark Gojo Cruz tallied 26 points and eight rebounds for UPHSD while Icee Callangan contributed 15 markers, all of which came from beyond the arc.
That spoiled EJ Castillo’s double-double outing, as he logged a day-high 28 points to go with 11 rebounds for EAC-ICA.
Ruvic Danag, on the other hand, dropped 18 points along with four assists in San Sebastian’s win which saw them lead by as much as 45 points.
Later in the afternoon, Mapua kept the Greenies winless in a lopsided 16-point victory.
The Red Robins leaned on Lawrence Mangubat’s 18 points and six rebounds, while Sean Salvador chipped in 14 markers.
This marks Mapua’s third-straight victory over LSGH since 2019.
To cap off the day, the Arellano Braves kept the JRU Light Bombers at bay, 94-86, as they captured their first win of the season.
In the driver’s seat for the entire game, Arellano held on to a comfortable double-digit lead until a last-ditch attempt by JRU to close out with a respectable deficit in the fourth quarter.
Along with his perfect outing from the line, going 7-of-7, Gerald Reguera lifted the Braves’ breakaway victory with 19 points and three rebounds.
For the Light Bombers, Paul Enal led all scorers with a game-high 22 points off 64-percent shooting.
The Scores:
First Game
San Sebastian 101 – Danag 18, Penaverde 15, Bamba 11, Melano 10, Marasigan 8, Apostol 8, Jimenez 7, Bonus 6, Porcadas 4, Herrera 4, Casan 4, Jacob 2, Bautista 2, Rodriguez 2, Ramilo 0
LPU 62 – Sayaman 15, Timbol 11, Melchor 9, Poli 6, Dag-um 6, Turno 4, Villa 3, Panerio 2, Julio 2, Matienzo 1, Conde 1, Mulligan 1, Lobos 1, Lingoste 0, Parinas 0
Quarterscores: 17-19, 51-30, 82-41, 101-62
Second Game
UPHSD 93 – Gojo Cruz 26, Callangan 15, Daep 13, Pagulayan 10, Acido 8, Baldoria 5, Diaz 3, Bernaldez 3, Ayon 2, Asuncion 2, Valencia 2, Borja 2, Cristino 2
EAC-ICA 85 – Castillo 28, Campana 12, Coronel 11, Iraham 9, Canonigo 8, Bautista 6, Razo 4, Tecson 3, Lumbo 2, Luna 2, Mariquit 0, Villarias 0, Rodriguez 0
Quarterscores: 26-17, 58-44, 72-65, 93-85
Third Game
San Beda 88 – Cañete 24, Medroso 19, Vailoces 15, Wagan 7, San Juan 7, Doliente 7, Lorenzo 5, Batong Bakal 3, Winters 1, Sollano 0, Mondigo 0, Mercado 0, Feliciano 0
Letran 72 – Manalili 18, Silorio 12, Baliling 12, Villanueva 7, Golez 6, Diamante 5, Padilla 4, Navarro 3, De Leon 3, Gazzingan 2, Reyes 2, Dela Rama 0, Cruz 0, Hugo 0, Alforque 0
Quarterscores: 25-14, 40-31, 66-51, 88-72
Fourth Game
Mapua 89 – Mangubat 18, Salvador 14, Mulingtapang 10, Rodriguez 9, Valina 8, Malaga 7, Mananquil 6, Go 6, Coronel 3, Duque 2, Gragasin 2, Masiglat 2, Bagro 2, Palis 0, Bernabe 0
LSGH 73 – Ison 20, Quines 14, Ortega 9, Nonoy 8, Podador 7, Natividad 7, Osis 5, Sharma 2, Gomez 1, Muyuela 0, Abad 0, Tud 0, Peralta 0, Romero 0
Quarterscores: 26-18, 43-35, 61-55, 89-73
Fifth Game
Arellano 94 – Reguera 19, Yu 13, Distrito 12, Mendoza 10, Novillo 9, Franco 7, Montesclaros 6, Espinosa 6, Tanudtanod 4, Javier 2, Austria 2, Pascual 2, Jimenez 2, Pangilinan 0, Vergara 0
JRU 86 – Enal 22, Guarino 17, Pineda 16, Marin 13, Pinzon 7, Almario 4, To 2, Satparam 2, Rivera 2, Capistrano 1, Castillo 0, Natividad 0
Quarterscores: 26-17, 53-34, 75-59, 94-86
