Abueva and Pascual-less SSC-R solid at 2nd spot, Hermida's triple double propelled Red Lions over Generals

Defending champion San Sebastian bucked the absences of Calvin Abueva and Ronald Pascual as it downed St. Benilde, 62-51, yesterday to remain at second spot in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

John Raymundo scored nine of his 14 points in the third quarter when the Stags turned a two-point deficit into a cushion that they nurtured until the end to seal its ninth win in 10 outings.

MVP race leader Calvin Abueva had a seven-point first quarter but sprained his right ankle late in the period and didn't return while Pascual, the team's second leading scorer, sat out the whole match due to sickness.

Thankfully, the other guys stepped up for the Stags.

"Ronald was sick and Calvin sprained an ankle. Good thing my other players stepped up," said San Sebastian coach Ato Agustin, who will coach his last season this year after getting official appointment as coach of San Miguel Beer in the PBA.

Carlo Lastimosa, nephew of former PBA star Jojo Lastimosa, led all scorers with 26 points but couldn't draw enough support to prevent the Blazers from falling to their eighth setback against two victories.

"Our goal is to stop either Lastimosa and (Mark) de Guzman or both and we succeeded in stopping one," said Agustin referring to de Guzman, who was held to just a point after missing all his six attempts.

In juniors' action, San Beda walloped EAC, 70-56, to remain atop the standings with a 9-1 slate while San Sebastian trounced CSB, 74-69, to improve to a share of fourth with Jose Rizal on 6-4 slates.

Abueva, who leads everyone in the statistical race after the first round, unleashed a hot start with seven points, seven rebounds, an assist and a steal but sprained his left ankle just seconds remaining before the opening canto ended.

With Abueva and Pascual gone, the Blazers slowly but surely clawed their way back and even snatched a 30-28 lead on four unanswered points by Lastimosa midway in the third period.

And then Raymundo unloaded a pair of booming triples and then the Stags were never in trouble from there.

San Beda whipped up a third quarter storm as it walloped Emilio Aguinaldo, 92-68, yesterday to extend its amazing run to 10 in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Garvo Lanete fired 17 points while pro-bound Borgie Hermida notched his first triple-double effort with 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to power the Lions to their 10th win a row, or six games from sweeping the elimination round.

"He's really PBA material and he showed it in his game," said San Beda mentor Frankie Lim of Hermida, who applied for this year's PBA rookie draft.

The Generals fell to their eighth setback against two wins.

The Scores:
San Sebastian 62- Raymundo 14, Semira 11, Bulawan 8, Sangalang 7, Abueva 7, del Rio 5, Gorospe 4, Maique 2, Maconocido 2, E. Gatchalian 2, dela Cruz 0, J. Gatchalian 0, Najorda 0
CSB 51- Lastimosa 26, Argamino 8, Sinco 5, McCoy 4, Amin 3, Wong 2, dela Paz 2, de Guzman 1, Nayve 0, Tan 0, Manalac 0, Abolucion 0
Quarterscores: 13-6; 22-14; 40-33; 62-51;

San beda 92- Lanete 17, A. Semerad 14, Hermida 14, Marcelo 9, Daniel 8, K. Pascual 7, Lim 5, D. Semerad 4, Mendoza 4, Caram 4, Moralde 3, Villahermosa 2, J. Pascual 1, Sorela 0, dela Rosa 0
EAC 68- L. Yaya 16, Mendoza 16, Chiong 14, R. Yaya 10, Vargas 7, Tuazon 4, Cubo 1, Villegas 0, Diolanto 0
Quarterscores; 18-16; 39-36; 73-49; 92-68