Ralph Samson | FCF
Four-time defending NCAA champions San Beda College came back from 14 points down in the regulation to down Letran College in double overtime, 99-96, in the seniors division opening day of the 2014 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Cup on Saturday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Fresh off their two-week long training and team building camp in Lithuania, the Red Lions shut the door on the shorthanded Knights – with key players Mark Cruz, Rey Nambatac, Jamil Gabawan, and Kevin Racal out of the ballgame due to fouls – through the trio of Arthur dela Cruz, guard Baser Amer, and Nigerian center Ola Adeogun during the late stages.
Amer paced the Red Lions’ surge with 28 points, seven rebounds and three assists, dela Cruz tallied 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Adeogun showed his dominance on both ends, amounting for 13 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocked shots.
“We fought hard today. They really played with heart, and we’re just lucky that we won it,” San Beda Head Coach Boyet Fernandez said. “We are happy that we came out with a win, but we have so many things to check, especially our defense [where we] gave out opponents so many points in the [regulation].”
Mark Cruz finished with 12 points, followed by Ford Ruaya’s 12 points to lead the Knights.
Ralph Samson | FCF
On the other hand, De La Salle University spoiled the head coaching return of Derrick Pumaren in their 69-62 conquest of defending tournament champion University of the East in the day’s featured contest.
The Season 76 men’s champion Green Archers trumped the Red Warriors, 20-9, in the final 10 minutes after trailing by four, 49-53, entering the fourth period.
Arnold Van Opstal set the trend, scoring 16 points with six rebounds to lead all scorers. Guard Thomas Torres added 12 points, while Almond Vosotros finished with 10 points and four assists.
“It was good for us because it was a tune-up, and we’re testing the waters now. I was trying to create for my teammates, trying to test things out. They [UE] didn’t have [Charles] Mammie though. I was expecting him to play as well,” said Van Opstal, who had to contend against 6-foot-6 Cameroonian rookie center Moustapha Arafat, who finished with 12 points, eight rebounds and four blocks in his varsity debut for UE.
Second-year De La Salle Head Coach Juno Sauler lamented the lackluster performance from his boys, despite having LA Revilla as their lone key subtraction from their championship roster last season.
“It’s not really the match against UE, but more on seeing where we are in the months that we’ve prepared, and again seeing the need to fix especially when the UAAP starts [two months from now],” said Sauler.
Earlier, San Sebastian College-Recoletos eked out an 81-78 result against University of the Philippines in Group C to open up the day, while Far Eastern University ran roughshod on Mapua Institute of Technology, 89-77, in Group B.
The Stags, led by ex-Staglets forward Rhanzel Yong with 16 points and sophomore swingman CJ Perez with 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, gave a rude welcome in the debut of Rey Madrid as the team’s full-time head coach.
Mike Tolomia led the balanced attack of Coach Nash Racela’s Tamaraws with 19 points and four assists, followed by SEA Games veteran Mac Belo with 13 points, and Raymar Jose amounting for 12 points and seven rebounds, to nix the impressive return of forward Josan Nimes.
The Fil-Aussie Nimes poured 28 points on an impressive 11-for-20 shooting from the field in 30 minutes of action. The former NCAA rookie of the year sat out the entire NCAA Season 89 to relieve a lingering back injury that bothered his play. Jessie Saitanan made his living in the post for the Cardinals by scoring 15 points on a 6-for-9 shooting clip.
