San Beda thrashes Benilde, barges into quarterfinals

De La Salle guard Almond Vosotros drives past Letran guard McJour Luib in their 2013 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Cup match on Monday. (FCF / Vyn Radovan)

Two days ago, De La Salle University suffered a shock loss to a gritty University of the East squad. But against former NCAA rival Colegio de San Juan de Letran, they went back to their old ways.

In Monday’s 2013 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Cup action at The Arena in San Juan, the Green Archers ended the Knights’ chance to barge into the knockout phase of the tournament with a 64-43 decision in the day’s featured showdown.

Anchored by the streak shooting of Almond Vosotros, who hit three-straight shots from beyond the arc to give the Taft Avenue five their first double-digit lead of the match to break the game wide open, tallied 16 points on a torrid 6-for-9 shooting from the field. Jeron Teng added 11 points.

“I think we did a good job in the second half. In the first half, I think we were missing a lot of open shots, free throws. It’s just a lack of concentration on our part,” said De La Salle head coach Gee Abanilla.

(FCF / Vyn Radovan)

“We just really wanted to redeem ourselves in today’s game. Our game against UE wasn’t our regular game, so I guess you could say it was hard for all of us to sleep after that game,” chimed in Green Archers center Norbert Torres, who posted seven points and 12 rebounds in the ballgame.

“That game against UE was really hard to swallow, because we were outworked, we were outhustled. I saw them give the effort, but not as much as UE did. It’s a good thing it happened early. We used that loss to further improve ourselves.” noted the former Green Archers guard turned mentor.

Mark Cruz was the only Knight in double figures with 10 poiunts, while top big man Raymond Almazan was shackled with only two points and five rebounds in nearly two quarters of play.

The Knights’ loss to end their elimination round campaign gives a free pass for University of Santo Tomas to enter the quarterfinals phase

San Beda College, led by another 22 point explosion by sophomore guard Francis Abarcar, secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 74-58 thrashing of Benilde.

Baser Amer chipped in 15 points, while Ryusei Koga and Ola Adeogun each had 10 apiece.

Coming off the break with a slim 39-38 lead, the Red Lions blitzed the Blazers on a 16-6 charge to set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Mark Romero led the exiting Blazers (3-5) with 19 points, while Paolo Taha could not duplicate his solid performance against FEU in their last outing and finishes with just four points.

Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College avoided a complete meltdown to keep Lyceum winless after seven games in a thrilling 85-82 finish.

Jolas Paguia waxed hot with 15 points and 9 rebounds, while former San Beda Red Cub Francis Munsayac had 14 points and 5 assists to his tally.

“Nung second half, Lyceum really put the pressure on us. Yun ang kailangan pag pre-season pa lang,” said EAC head coach Gerry Esplana.

The Pirates, who found themselves down 12 at the intermission, got a huge boost from their trio of Shaq Alanes, Arwin Azores, and newcomer Jomari Lacastesantos, who poured in a combined total of 24 points in the last 20 minutes of the match to stay within striking distance.

Reserve player Wilson Baltazar connected from downtown to knot the ballgame at 82 with 35 seconds left, but the Generals connected on three of their four free throws courtesy of Jack Arquero and Francis Munsayac to seal the deal.

“The boys will have to realize that this is a game of spurts. I’d rather have them play a close game than a blowout game bacause that’s what they’ll expect come NCAA,” added Esplana.

Shane Ko led the still-winless Pirates (0-7) with 15 points, five rebounds, and eight assists. Azores totalled for 13 points and eight rebounds, while Alanes had 12 in the contest.

In the women’s division, Adamson University claimed a 72-64 victory over Benilde.

Jinkie Balasta chipped in 15 points, Zhalyn Mateo added 12 points, while Joy Cochico totalled for 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the contest for the Lady Falcons (2-1).

Jen Mayol had 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Lady Blazers (1-3) in the loss.