In another dominant showing since losing to the Lyceum Pirates, the San Beda College Red Lions whipped the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 81-69, to notch its first winning streak of the season, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The win gave San Beda solo second in the standings with a 3-1 slate while EAC dropped its second straight game for a 1-2 record.
Joe Presbitero set his personal-high in the game with 16 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting to go along with three assists and two steals. Cameroonian student-athlete Donald Tankoua added 12 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes of action, his season-high so far.
“I just played my game. I just followed the rules when it comes to offense, tas yun, yun nangyari, kinalabasan. Bigla na lang di ko na pala alam na Player of the Game na pala ako, career-high pa,” Presbitero said.
However, just like in their game against the Saint Benilde Blazers, the Red Lions started slow once again, only to turn it up in the third frame.
Behind Clint Doliguez and Davon Potts, combining for 13 third quarter points, San Beda went on a game-breaking 17-3 run to gain a 55-35 lead. For coach Boyet Fernandez though, he urged that his team could not come out the same way as they did in their last two games.
“I hope it will not happen in our next game against Letran. Letran’s a very good team. EAC is also a very good team. We just have to really play our game from the start to finish,” the two-time NCAA champion coach said.
Robert Bolick once again filled up the startsheet with 10 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Javee Mocon also finished with 10 markers.
EAC was dealt another blow as floor general Francis Munsayac stepped on Mocon with 3:12 left, spraining his right ankle. He did not return to the game.
“We’re happy we got this win but I hope that Francis recovers soon. He gave us a headache, he scored 21 points,” said Fernandez.
Jerome Garcia added 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists for the Generals while Hamadou Laminou struggled against the San Beda frontline, shooting just 4-for-18 from the field for 13 points.
San Beda will next face archrivals Letran on Tuesday, July 25 at 4:00pm. EAC, on the other hands, takes on Mapua on the same day at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
SBC (81) – Presbitero 16, Tankoua 12, Bolick 10, Mocon 10, Doliguez 9, Potts 9, Oftana 6, Soberano 3, Adamos 2, Bahio 2, Tongco 2, Cabanag 0, Abuda 0, Noah 0.
EAC (69) – Munsayac 21, Garcia 16, Laminou 13, Onwubere 10, Diego 4, Guzman 3, Mendoza I 2, Corilla 0, Pascua 0, Mendoza J 0, Tampoc 0.
Quarterscores: 19-17, 38-32, 62-43, 81-69.
