Knowing that its opponent is pegged as one of the teams that had the best chance to take them down, San Beda made sure to send a statement, taking a masterful 91-76 wire-to-wire victory over San Sebastian in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Tuesday at the Filoil Flying V Center.
“I salute the players for this. We were having problems in the first three games in the second round but I’m happy how they responded. They showed what they are capable of,” said decorated San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez.
After three lackadaisical games, San Beda started the game like a house on fire with Calvin Oftana and James Canlas leading the way.
Canlas then took charge in the second stanza, scoring eight of his 20 points that helped build a 35-17 lead. Moreover, the sophomore guard’s explosion helped fend off a San Sebastian rally.
“San Sebastian is a very strong team, very well-coached with Coach Egay. The boys really stepped up,” said Fernandez.
Canlas had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with five assists, four rebounds, and a steal while Oftana tallied 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal.
Donald Tankoua and Oftana powered San Beda in the third frame before Evan Nelle finished things off in the last 10 minutes of the contest.
Tankoua had 18 points and seven boards while Nelle scattered 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds.
“Calvin was the best player for me but James, Evan, Donald, Clint [Doliguez], AC [Soberano] and JB [Bahio] also played well,” expressed Fernandez.
With the win, San Beda closed in on a 14th straight Final Four appearance while racking up their 27th straight win.
San Sebastian fell to 7-5.
The Golden Stags were led by RK Ilagan who had 16 points but needed 16 attempts to do so. Allyn Bulanadi added 14 points while Rommel Calahat tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
San Beda will next face the Perpetual Altas on Thursday, September 26 at 2:00 pm while San Sebastian looks to bounce back on Friday when it squares off against the EAC Generals.
The Scores:
SBU 91 – Canlas 20, Tankoua 18, Oftana 15, Soberano 14, Nelle 11, Doliguez 10, Bahio 2, Cuntapay 1, Abuda 0, Alfaro 0, Carino 0
SSCR 76 – Ilagan 16, Bulanadi 14, Calahat 12, Sumoda 9, Capobres 8, Calma 7, Desoyo 4, Cosari 3, Altamirano 3, Villapando 0, Isidro 0, Loristo 0
Quarterscores: 30-17, 51-43, 71-62, 91-76
