After eliminating the Perpetual Altas last Tuesday in a “ugly” contest, the defending champions San Beda College Red Lions shattered the playoffs hopes of another one, pounding the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 88-51, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“We’re hoping to be consistent. This is the first time we won by 37 points. We had a good start. Again, I will just preach consistency with our execution and defense,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
The win is San Beda’s 14th straight win to retain solo second with a 15-1 record. EAC, on the other hand, dropped to 6-10, ending their hopes of that elusive Final Four spot.
And after combining for just 11 assists in their 55-50 win over Perpetual, Robert Bolick took matters into his own hands this time, dishing out 12 of San Beda’s 18 assists to orchestrate the Red Lion offense.
With Bolick steering the will, it was up to the rest of the Red Lions to push the pedal.
Sharpshooter AC Soberano torched the EAC defense, finishing with a team-high of 17 points on 5-for-7 shooting from deep. Javee Mocon added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Soberano, a native of Tarlac, turned it up in the third canto, scoring eight points during that span. Moreover, San Beda’s defense limited EAC to just six points during that frame, breaking the game wide open.
The Red Lions would lead by as much as 37 points in the contest. And for Fernandez, this is a statement that he wants to tell his team, saying that this is the consistency that he wants to see from them heading into their last two games of the round.
“We cannot win against LPU if we won’t be consistent in our execution and our defense. Our game against Letran will be the barometer on how we’ll fare against LPU,” the decorated mentor furthered.
Donald Tankoua also picked up a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three swats. Franz Abuda tallied his career-high as well with 10 markers as he started for Davon Potts who missed the game due to a right ankle sprain.
Sidney Onwubere was the only General to finish in double-figures with 22 points but needed 22 attempts to do so. As a team, the Generals went a nightmarish 16-for-68 from the field.
San Beda plays its penultimate game of the round when it takes on arch-rivals Letran Knights on Friday, October 13 at 2:00pm. EAC hopes to ends its season on a high note starting on Tuesday, October 12 when its takes on the CSB Blazers at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
SBC 88 – Soberano 17, Mocon 15, Tankoua 12, Abuda 10, Carino 8, Bolick 6, Tongco 6, Bahio 4, Noah 4, Presbitero 2, Adamos 2, Cabanag 2, Doliguez 0, Oftana 0.
EAC 51 – Onwubere 22, Tampoc 8, Garcia 6, Pascua 5, Bugarin 5, Bautista 3, Mendoza I 2, Munsayac 0, Corilla 0, Mendoza J 0, Neri 0, Diego 0.
Quarterscores: 26-11, 40-28, 60-34, 88-51.
