Eighty-two days since being dethroned by its arch-rival, San Beda got a measure of revenge on Letran, racking up a dominant 76-53 in the 2019 PCCL: UAAP-NCAA Challenge, Sunday at Filoil Flying V Centre.
Reigning NCAA Most Valuable Player Calvin Oftana spearheaded the Red Lions’ attack with 17 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals, and three blocks.
But Oftana wasn’t the only one stepping up. The duo of Ralph Penuela and Peter Alfaro led San Beda’s bench mob in a huge second quarter surge.
Penuela had 16 points built on two triples, while Alfaro added 12 markers.
“Well, we are not really in shape right now, and we know that we will be a very good team come the NCAA,” said San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez about the potential shown by this batch of Red Lions.
It was all San Beda in the final frame, leading by as much as 23 points to close out the game. On the other hand, Letran continued to play lackadaisical basketball like in its loss to UST yesterday.
San Beda gave itself a chance to advance to the Final Four with a 1-1 record. Only the top two teams in this division will advance to the next round.
“We just had to win today to give us a shot sa PCCL Final Four. Hopefully, we’ll be ready for UST,” added Fernandez.
On the other hand, Jeo Ambohot was the sole bright spot for the Knights who fell to 0-2, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds. Larry Muyang added 10 points and seven boards.
Fran Yu continued to struggle, finishing with just six points on 3-of-10 shooting to go along with four turnovers.
The Scores:
SBU 76 — Oftana 17, Penuela 16, Alfaro 12, Carino 7, Cuntapay 6, Canlas 5, Villejo 5, Bahio 4, Etrata 4, Abuda 0, Fornis 0, Visser 0, Ratuiste 0, Tagala 0.
CSJL 53 — Ambohot 13, Muyang 10, Fajarito 8, Yu 6, Ular 6, Pambid 5, Brutas 3, Mina 2, Javillonar 0, Reyson 0, Rocacurva 0, Vacaro 0, Guarino 0.
Quarterscores: 21-16, 37-29, 57-45, 76-53.