MANILA – San Beda started to avenge its bitter loss to San Sebastian in last year’s finals of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after delivering an emphatic victory Wednesday, 88-76, at the Arena in San Juan.
It was a double-treat for the Red Lions as they now enjoy the top view (8-0) in time for the second round of eliminations on Friday.
San Beda used its deep bench to smother the equally determined Stags, with American standout Sudan Daniel registering 14 points and hauling a season-high 19 rebounds for the Red Lions.
Borgie Hermida, on the other hand, rebounded from a listless first half by draining all his 13 markers in the final quarters coupled with six assists to effectively deal San Sebastian’s first setback in the 86th men’s basketball season.
“We came in well-prepared, we expected the worse,” San Beda coach Frankie Lim told reporters.
“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 contributed in 11 points apiece to pace the losing effort of the Stags, who fell to 7-1.
In the earlier contest, the Vergel Meneses-coached Jose Rizal University defeated Mapua, 61-54, to end at solo third with a 6-2 (win-loss) slate. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)