San Beda caught Blazers flat footed in the 2nd half, San Sebastian gangs up on Chiefs to remain undefeated in seven

San Beda relied anew on a big second half effort as it walloped St. Benilde, 87-61, yesterday to extend its amazing streak to seven in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Adler dela Rosa fired 14 points while Garvo Lanete returned from a one-game absence due to mild sprain by pouring in 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter as the Lions remained on top with a pristine 7-0 slate.

“We started to make our shots in the third quarter and that sparked our big second half run,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim, priming up for their much-awaited showdown with last year’s finals tormentor San Sebastian on Aug. 18.

Similar to their 65-point second half effort in a 92-57 rout of the Arellano U Chiefs, the Lions this time unleashed a 50-point splurge in the final two quarters to turn a mere two-point lead at the break to a blowout.

Skipper Borgie Hermida, playing his fifth and last season as he applies for the PBA rookie draft late this month, ignited the second half breakaway as he came through with a superb all-around effort with six points, a game-high eight assists and five board.

Mark de Guzman paced the Blazers with 16 points including four booming triples while Carlo Lastimosa, nephew of former PBA star Jojo, scattered 14 points but couldn’t find an answer to the Lions’ vicious running game.

CSB fell to its sixth straight loss against a lone win.

In juniors’ action, reigning titlist San Beda leaned on a 16-point and 13-assist effort of Baser Amer as it downed St. Benilde, 71-67, to remain atop the heap with a 6-1 (win-loss) slate.



San Sebastian, for its part, drew strength from Gino Jumao-as’ 20-point performance as it dumped Arellano U, 76-58, to improve to a 4-3 card.

Defending champion San Sebastian likewise remained unscathed as it downed Arellano U, 69-58, to join last year’s runner-up San Beda at the helm.

Calvin “The Beast” Abueva had monster game with 17 points and 17 boards to help power the Stags to their seventh win in a row while priming them up in an interesting showdown with the Lions.

San Sebastian’s reserve guard Erickson Gatchalian, meanwhile, was tossed out of the game after he was assessed a pair of flagrant fouls in the third quarter.

The scores:

6, Villahermosa 6, Marcelo 5, A. Semerad 4, D. Semerad 4, Lim 4, Sorela 2, Mendoza 2, Moralde 0, Caram 0
CSB 61- de Guzman 16, Lastimosa 14, Tan 8, Argamino 6, McCoy 4, dela Paz 4, Amin 3, Sinco 2, Wong 2, Abolucion 2, Melocoton 2, Manalac 0
Quarterscores: 15-14; 37-35; 59-47; 87-61


San Sebastian 69- Abueva 17, Pascual 13, Maconocido 8, Raymundo 7, Semira 7, Bulawan 6, Sangalang 4, Gorospe 4, del Rio 3, Gatchalian 0, dela Cruz 0
Arellano U 58- Celada 16, Zulueta 13, Acidre 9, Lapuz 9, Ciriacruz 4, del Rosario 2, Virtudazo 2, Tayongtong 2, Casino 1, Advincula 0, Caperal 0