Diego de la Paz | FCF
San Beda College (15-3) claimed the number one spot for the eighth consecutive season following a 78-62 rout of Arellano University (8-10) in the final elimination round playing date of the NCAA Season 89 seniors basketball tournament on Saturday night at The Arena in San Juan City.
The three-time defending champions dictated the tempo behind a very strong 20-7 start in the first quarter, resulting in a balanced scoring attack.
Baser Amer and Ola Adeogun each had 11 points to lead the Red Lions. Rome De La Rosa, Dan Sara, and Kyle Pascual each had 10 points to complete the balanced cast of five to have finished in double digits during the ballgame.
“It’s been a rollercoaster ride for us, up-and-down up-and-down, in terms of our performance. At least the boys came out strong after a loss and won all their games,” noted San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez of their elimination round campaign. “I congratulate the boys for winning number one.”
Leading the way for the Chiefs was Prince Caperal’s 23 points and 10 rebounds, followed by AJ Serjue’s career-high output of 17 points.
Emilio Aguinaldo College (10-8) slipped past Mapua Institute of Technology (2-16) in the first game, 82-76, to clinch one of the two wildcard berths in next month’s Philippine Collegiate Champions League.
Third-year guard Remy Morada exploded for a season-best 23 points, 18 of which came in the final stretch to pull away from the upset-hungry Cardinals for good.
Last season’s rookie of the year Cedric Noube Happi posted 17 points with 14 rebounds, while Jan Jamon added 13 points in their season swan song.
Lead assistant coach Andy De Guzman, who took the reigns in the absence of the China-bound Gerry Esplana, explained that their Season 89 campaign was a success despite falling short by a game to at least forge a playoff with San Sebastian for the final spot in the
“(The 10 win mark is a) big achievement. The boys are happy although we were eliminated. But the management and the coaching staff, the whole team, is happy with our performance. We were just seconds away from our chance to get into the Final Four,” said De Guzman
Cardinals forward Jeson Cantos submitted a career-best 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Darrel Magsigay added 15 points.
With their second straight loss to end their first season under rookie collegiate head coach Atoy Co, the Cardinals equal the mark set by then-guest member Angeles University Foundation in 2009 for the worst win-loss record in the seniors division since the league expanded their membership pool to 10 teams.
