De La Salle University’s rookies shone brightly in their 73-57 win over Guang Ming College in Group Prime of the 2023 Pinoyliga Collegiate Cup on Friday at Philippine Buddha Care Academy.
Jonnel Policarpio tallied nine points, five rebounds, and four steals in the win while batchmates Vhoris Marasigan and Matthew Rubico added eight and seven points, respectively.
EJ Gollena also sustained his fine play after breaking out in the PBA D-League against PSP on Thursday, scoring a team-high 12 points to go along with five steals and four rebounds.
Incoming juniors Raven Cortez and EJ Abadam also contributed eight apiece in the win.
Kingsley Ududo was the sole bright spot for the Flying Dragons, who topped the PCCL Southern Luzon Championship, with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
GMC dropped to 0-2.
San Sebastian College-Recoletos, meanwhile, took solo lead in Group Prime after escaping debuting Jose Rizal University, 84-77.
Albert Gabat produced a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while Rafael Are tallied 16 points, seven steals, five rebounds, and five assists for the 2-0 Golden Stags.
Marj De Leon paced the Heavy Bombers as he flirted with a double-double of 15 points, nine rebounds, and an assist, while Ry Dela Rosa had 14 points and Vince Sarmiento got 11 points.
In the sole Group Edge game of the day, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA evened its slate to 1-1 after scoring an upset win against San Beda University, 72-69.
Christian Pagaran was the topscorer for the Altas with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Richard Movida and Jericho Nunez had 11 and seven points, respectively.
On the other hand, former Far Eastern University guard Bryan Sajonia paced the Red Lions with 18 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Former UST guard Ricci Calimag contributed 11 points, while Joshua Tagala chipped in 10 points.
