Egay Macaraya and the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags were put to the test in the season opener.
The Stags almost had a meltdown but were able to compose themselves and hold off a late College of Saint Benilde Blazer rally, 54-49, Sunday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Jerick Fabian was the high point man for the Stags as he scored 12 points, ten coming in the first half. Michael Calisaan, in his return game from a motorcycle accident, added eight points and five rebounds in just 18 minutes of game time.
“As I’ve said before my team is still learning to win,” said first year San Sebastian head coach Egay Macaraya said. “Yung team namin ngayon no pressure and just try to win the games. “
“Pero yun na rin yung setback. Credit to the boys dahil nakita ko puso nila and yung will to win”
The Stags had been cruising past their opponents in the first three quarter of the game as they maintained a double-digit lead.
After gaining a 44-30 lead, Carlo Young all of a sudden popped back-to-back triples and brought to life the stagnant Benilde crowd. The Stags answered back with six straight points but suddenly went into a cold spell.
Baskets by Christian Fajarito and a booming triple by Fons Saavedra highlighted a 9-0 rally that cut the San Sebastian lead to just five with 2:03 remaining. Calisaan, the go-to-guy of the Stags, was able to clean up two misses from the stripe by Alvin Capobres to stop the Stags’ bleeding, while grabbing Fajarito’s fifth foul in the process.
The wave of momentum clearly shifted in favor of the Green and White, with Saavedra scoring on a long two. JJ Domingo slashed through the lanes for a contested layup that cut the lead to just three with 1:05 remaining.
“Learn from our mistakes,” Macaraya rued. “I guess the factor was the fatigues since lahat ng second stringers ko hindi nag-perform.”
A bevy of turnovers plagued the Stags, who were clearly rattled by the Benilde rally. However, three costly misses from the stripe by Edward Dixon, and free throw splits by Capobres and Ian Valdez, sealed the game for the Golden Stags.
However, with 24 ticks remaining, Fabian tweaked his ankle after stepping on Saavedra’s foot with 24 seconds remaining, and provided another scare for the Recto squad. Fortunately, Fabian assured that it was just a minor sprain after the game.
“The good thing about it is that we were playing defense,” Macaraya said about shooting a horrid 31.25 percent from the field. “Both teams are struggling from the field. I believe that in the next games aasenso yang percentage na yan.”
Sophomore guard JJ Domingo was the only Blazer to score in double-figures with 10 points. Saavedra added nine points and five boards.
The San Sebastian Stags (1-0) face a tougher test on Friday, July 1 when they go up against the Arellano Chiefs (1-0) at 12:00nn. On the other hand, CSB (0-1) face the Letran Knights (0-1) in the next game at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
SSC-R (54) – Fabian 12, Calisaan 8, Ilagan 8, Capobres 5, Valdez 5, Baetiong 4, Bulanadi 4, David 2, Costelo 2, Sera Jose 2, Gayosa 1, Johnson 1, Mercado 0, Quipse 0, Miguel 0.
CSB (49) – Domingo JJ 10, Saavedra 9, Fajarito 8, Young 8, Haruna 6, Leutcheu 3, Dixon 2, Pasamante 1, San Juan 1, Belgica 1, Castor 0, Sta. Maria 0, Pajarillaga 0, Doming JS 0, Pili 0.
Quarterscores: 17-13, 31-19, 42-30, 54-49.
