Vyn Radovan | FCF
Lyceum of the Philippines University’s trio of guard Dexter Zamora, forward Wilson Baltazar, and import Guy Mbida Essono proved to be more than Letran College could handle, as they led the Pirates to their first win via a 74-70 result in the continuation of the 90th National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors’ basketball tournament on Friday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Coming off a painful loss against Arellano last Monday after having just 11 players in uniform, the Pirates broke the game wide open on a 18-6 surge by the mid point of the second half to build a 66-57 advantage at the 5:30 mark.
Zamora topped all scorers, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field. Baltazar added 15 points, while the returning Mbida – who was meted a one-game suspension for missing the school’s pep rally – made his mark by scoring 11 of his 15 points during their late game rally and grabbed 12 rebounds.
“Our loss last Monday was more of mental toughness. Sinabi namin sa players na medyo nagkulang tayo sa rotation before, ngayon hindi na tayo pwede magkulang dahil ‘yung two players natin nagbalik na, si [Guy] Mbida at si [Jeremiah] Taladua. So ngayon sa utak namin, alam namin na kaya naming tapusin sa second half, which hindi namin nagawa during the first game namin against Arellano,” said longtime LPU Head Coach Bonnie Tan.
Forward Kevin Kent Racal put up 13 points and handed out five assists, while Jamil Gabawan, Rey Publico, and rookie Daryl Singontiko each contributed 11 in the Knights’ second straight loss to mirror their start during the 2010 season.
Vyn Radovan | FCF
On the other hand, San Beda College grabs a share of the early lead with San Sebastian College after dealing the luckless Mapúa Institute of Technology five their second straight 34-point rout, 89-55, in the day’s second game.
Fourth year combo guard Baser Amer went on a 7-for-9 shooting spree from long range en route to 21 points in the afternoon for the red and white. Swingman Anthony Semerad connected on 15 points, while slotmen Arthur de la Cruz and Ola Adeogun added 10 apiece for the Red Lions, now sporting a 2-0 won-lost mark.
“I’m happy that the boys stepped up [today], but we have to take good care of the basketball. We had 18 turnover and we allowed Mapúa to have 17 assists. We still have lots to do on defense in order to match up on defense to really match up with the other teams,” said second-year San Beda Head Coach Boyet Fernandez.
The Cardinals – led by the veteran duo of center Jessie Saitanan with 15 points, and Joseph Eriobu finishing with 13 points – joins the likes of Letran College and Jose Rizal University at the bottom of the heap with identical 0-2 marks.
