Hermida Lifts Red LIons; Stags Repel Generals

MANILA
, Philippines - Borgie Hermida fired 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter as San Beda survived Mapua, 69-64, to stretch its win run to three in the 86th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Hermida, in his fifth and last season with the Lions, actually struggled in the first three quarters but recovered in time to spearhead San Beda’s fightback from a nine-point deficit in the third period.

“It was a tough, scary, ugly win,” rued San Beda coach Frankie Lim, displeased by his wards’ slow start for the second straight game.

Defending champion San Sebastian matched San Beda’s 3-0 start by whipping the Emilio Aguinaldo Generals, 106-66, in the other seniors encounter.

Calvin Abueva paced the Stags with 21 points while Ronald Pascual, Ian Sangalang and Gilbert Bulawan contributed 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively, as the Stags broke away in the second quarter en route to the lopsided victory.

“Finally we executed our game plan well,” said San Sebastian mentor Ato Agustin.

San Sebastian also played without starting point guard John Raymundo, who came into the game to play but wasn’t allowed to due to fever.

“He (Raymundo) wanted to play but he was really sick so we opted to rest him instead,” said Agustin.

After routing its first two opponents by an average winning margin of 29 points, San Beda ran into a game Mapua five and its rugged, physical defense that saw the Lions trail majority of the contest.

But the former three-peat champions, behind American Sudan Daniel, clamped down on the defense while Hermida came through with clutch baskets down the stretch to fuel the Lions’ fiery windup.

Hermida, slowed down by various injuries the last two seasons, took over when San Beda needed him most, scoring 10 points in the last two minutes, including eight straight, to help save the day for the Lions.

Joey Villar, Philippine Star