Red Lions drew first blood on two-part showdown with Stags; JRU clamps down Mapua Cardinals for 3rd spot.

San Beda used its bench height and bench depth as it overpowered defending champion San Sebastian, 88-76, yesterday to sweep the first round of elimination in what could be a sneak preview of the finals of the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

American behemoth Sudan Daniel fired 14 points and plucked a season-high 19 rebounds while Borgie Hermida bounced back from a scoreless first half by scoring all his 13 points in the final quarters and spiked his effort with six assists to propel the Lions to the eight-game first round sweep.

“We came in well-prepared, we expected the worse,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. “We made stops, we got some players out of their game.

“We scored 88 points, it tells something about our offense, our firepower,” he added.

Adler dela Rosa, Garvo Lanete and Jake Pascual chipped in 11 points apiece to deal the Stags their first loss after matching the Lions win for win for seven straight games going into their much anticipated showdown.

The win also somehow avenged the painful two-game sweep absorbed by San Beda at the hands of San Sebastian in last year’s finale.
Calvin Abueva, who leads everyone in the MVP race, fought the 6-7 Daniel toe to toe and came through with 18 points and 14 boards but he fouled out in the stretch.

The highly physical match was surprisingly one-sided as the Lions dominated the match, which saw only one deadlock and a lead change, from start to finish with superb defense and their vicious running game.

Earlier, Jose Rizal whipped up a third quarter storm and then held on to turn back a gritty Mapua, 61-54, to seize solo third place with a 6-2 record.

Alex Almario poured 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter when the Bombers staved off a furious fight back by the Cardinals while Marvin Hayes and Raycon Kabigting scattered 12 apiece to help seal the win.

Mapua, who was paced by Jason Pascual’s 13 points, fell to its third setback against five triumphs to fall from a share of No. 3 to solo No. 4.

“It’s a crucial win for us because at least, we get to finish at No. 3 going into the second round,” said Jose Rizal mentor Vergel Meneses.

In juniors’ action, San Beda staved a fourth quarter meltdown and escaped with an 84-80 win over San Sebastian to finish on top after the first round with a 7-1 card.

Jose Rizal, for its part, edged past Mapua, 82-78, in another thriller of a ballgame to jump to a share of second with Perpetual Help on 6-2 marks.
The Staglets and the Red Robins fell to 4-4 each.

The scores:
Jose Rizal 61- Hayes 12, Almario 12, Kabigting 12, Apinan 7, Matute 6, Etame 6, J. Lopez 2, Bulangis 2, Montemayor 2, Badua 0, Njei 0
Mapua 54- Pascual 13, Mangahas 10, Cornejo 9, Acosta 6, Sarangay 5, Guillermo 4, Parala 4, Banal 3, Stevens 0, Ranises 0

San Beda 88- Daniel 14, Hermida 13, Pascual 11, dela Rosa 11, Lanete 11, Marcelo 9, Villahermosa 7, D. Semerad 6, A. Semerad 4, Mendoza 2, Pascual 0
San Sebastian 76- Abueva 18, Pascual 16, Maconocido 15, Semira 8, Raymundo 8, Sangalang 4, Gorospe 3, Bulawan 2, Najorda 2
Quarterscores: 25-17; 39-31; 66-49; 88-76