Four-time defending champion San Beda College routed an ailing Emilo Aguinaldo College five, 81-55, to maintain their clean slate following Monday’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 90 seniors basketball tournament action at The Arena in San Juan City.
Following a stellar defensive first half performance that kept the game close, the Generals saw the manageable seven point deficit balloon to 19 by the end of the third period due to their inability to calm their nerves and miscues on the offensive end.
To make matters worse, Coach Boyet Fernandez’s employment of a full-court trap in the third quarter, together with an 18-2 run led by Kyle Pascual’s eight points during the period, resulted in a 21-10 pullaway in the final quarter .
Forwards Anthony Semerad and Arthur de la Cruz led the way for San Beda, with the Fil-Australian amounting for 16 points and six rebounds and the ex-Red Cub de la Cruz contributing a double-double output of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
It’s really tough playing EAC due to the fact that they have shooters and they have [Cameroonian center Cedric Noube] Happi. We really had a hard time in the first half because we gave away [13] second-chance points and our pick-and-roll-defense was bad. But we changed our adjustments in the second half, so we just limited EAC to just 21 points in the second half,” the second-year mentor Fernandez said.
On the flip side, Generals Head Coach Gerry Esplana rued their team’s inability to perform against top-shelf squads, resulting to their third straight loss in four contests.
“Nagkaproblema lang talaga kami sa offense. Nafrufrustrate sila, we weren’t connecting sa open shots namin, andaming rebound ng San Beda, so nakakatakbo sila at ‘di makabawi sa transition defense. Tapos hindi 100 percent healthy sila. Si Happi may niraramdam, si Jack [Arquero] at [Jerald] Serrano kakagaling sa sprained ankle [sa] last game. Relaxed maglaro ang San Beda, pero tight kami maglaro,” lamented Esplana on their performance.
Serrano played through the pain and finished with 12 points, while swingman Igee King adding 11 for the Generals.
In the second game, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde finally broke through in the win column at the expense of Letran College, 85-71.
Despite building a 23 point advantage late in the third, the Knights – playing without suspended Head Coach Caloy Garcia – managed to cut their deficit down to 11, but the Blazers proved to be too stubborn for the Intramuros-based squad to handle.
Leading the way was Paolo Taha with 24 points and eight rebounds, followed by Mark Romero’s 12 points and and eight rebounds.
Mark Cruz, whose one-game suspension was downgraded to a stern warning from the commissioner, contributed a team-high 16 points, while the trio of Rey Nambatac, Jamil Gabawan, and Kevin Racal each posted 10 markers.
