Golden Stags recovers as Semira explodes with career-high 17; Red Lions roared to ninth straight at the start of their 2nd round campaign

DEFENDING champion San Sebastian College vented its ire on Emilio Aguinaldo College with an emphatic 81-63 victory yesterday in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.

The Stags recovered from a morale-sapping 76-88 setback to the San Beda Red Lions laat Wednesday to improve to 8-1 record in second place.

“Natauhan ang mga bata after ng mga mistakes namin sa San Beda. We were outsmarted at hindi kami aggressive, eye-opener talaga sa amin ang nangyari,” said San Sebastian mentor Ato Agustin.

Jonathan Semira scored 17 points while Calvin Abueva collected his seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Stags.

Milian Vargas registered 16 points, five boards and four assists while Lowell Yaya chipped in 10 points for the Generals.

EAC fell to 2-7 mark, trailing three games behind fourth-running Mapua in the race for the last ‘Final Four’ berth.

In juniors division, Baser Amer recorded his first triple double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as titleholder San Beda Red Cubs tripped CSB-La Salle Greenhills, 82-69, for a 8-1 record.

Gino Jumao-as had 18 points, 12 boards and eight assists to lift the San Sebastian Staglets with a 82-65 triumph of EAC Brigadiers for their fifth win in nine starts.

In the second game, San Beda College shrugged a poor first quarter to subdue College of Saint Benilde, 89-70, for its ninth straight win.

The Blazers raced to 23-12 lead before the Red Lions finally got their game going with Dave Marcelo, Jake Pascual and rookie Jaypee Mendoza on the firing end to take a 44-39 halftime lead.

From there, it was total domination for San Beda, which beat San Sebastian to complete a eight-game sweep of the first round.

“We started soft and it showed in the first quarter. We didn’t match the same intensity just like what we did the last time (against the Stags),” said Red Lions mentor Frankie Lim.

American center Sudan Daniel had another solid performance with 14 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks while Mendoza and Anthony Semerad added 12 points apiece for San Beda.

Red Lions guard Borgie Hermida, who has a commitment with the pro league rookie camp, churned out a team-high seven assists.

Carlo Lastimosa had 19 points while Jan Tan added 12 points for St. Benilde, which suffered its seventh loss in nine games.

The Scores:

SSC-R (81) – Semira 17, Abueva 16, Del Rio 13, Bulawan 6, Maconocido 6, Sangalang 6, Pascual 5, Najorda 4, Raymundo 3, Gatchalian 2, Dela Cruz 2, Gorospe 1.
EAC (63) – Vargas 16, Yaya L. 10, Mendoza 9, Cubo 7, Yaya R. 7, Diolanto 6, Chiong 4, Santos 2, Tuazon 2, Lapitan 0, Monteclaro 0.
QS: 22-10; 47-29; 69-39; 81-63


SBC (89) – Daniel 14, Semerad A. 12, Mendoza 12, Pascual J. 11, Marcelo 11, Hermida 9, Caram 8, Lanete 8, Dela Rosa 4, Lim 0, Pascual K. 0, Villahermosa 0.
CSB (70) – Lastimosa 19, Tan 12, De Guzman 9, McCoy 9, Abolucion 6, Argamino 5, Wong 5, Dela Paz 3, Sinco 2, Nayve 0, Sevilla 0.
QS: 15-23; 44-39; 71-60; 89-70