MANILA, Philippines – The San Sebastian Stags finally escaped their spiral of despair in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament after edging the JRU Heavy Bombers in a thriller, 87-85, at the FilOil EcoOil Centre on Wednesday, October 16.
After starting the season with back-to-back, come-from-behind wins, San Sebastian fell off a cliff, dropping eight straight games before finally tasting victory for a 3-8 record. The Stags, however, are still stuck in the cellar with identical records to JRU and Arellano.
Early-season star Paeng Are again showed a nice glimpse of what’s in store in his career, erupting for a game-high 28 points, hard-earned through a 9-of-13 free-throw clip, plus 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in over 35 minutes.
Raymart Escobido scored 17 on 7-of-15 shooting, while Tristan Felebrico scattered a nice support line of 8 points, 7 dimes, 5 boards, and 4 steals in 36 minutes as San Sebastian fended off a late 16-6 JRU attack to keep an 80-79 lead that it never relinquished until the final buzzer.
MJ Raymundo and Shawn Argente paced the loss with 20 points apiece, while Joshua Guiab churned out a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Meanwhile, the top-ranked St. Benilde Blazers cruised to their third straight win with a 100-77 burial of the Arellano Chiefs, to stay at No. 1 with a 9-2 record.
Gab Cometa feasted in just 14 minutes off the bench, topscoring for the Blazers with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and 3-of-4 from three. Justine Sanchez tallied a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Allen Liwag scattered 12 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.
Troy Valencia led all scorers in the loss with 25 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 dimes, while T-Mc Ongotan scored 15 with 8 boards.
The Scores
First Game
CSB 100 – Cometa 23, Sanchez 14, Liwag 12, Ancheta 8, Torres 8, Turco 6, Ondoa 6, Oli 5, Morales 4, Carillo 4, Eusebio 3, Sangco 3, Cajucom 2, Jarque 2, Arciaga 0.
Arellano 77 – Valencia 25, Ongotan 15, Geronimo 10, Capulong 8, Vinoya 7, Flores 6, Borromeo 2, Miller 2, Camay 2, Espiritu 0, Acop 0, De Leon 0, Libang 0, Abiera 0.
Quarters: 26-12, 54-36, 76-49, 100-77.
Second Game
San Sebastian 87 – Are 28, Escobido 17, Aguilar 13, R. Gabat 11, Felebrico 8, L. Gabat 5, Velasco 2, Ricio 2, Cruz 1, Suico 0, Pascual 0.
JRU 85 – Raymundo 20, Argente 20, Guiab 17, Sarmiento 8, Lozano 7, Barrera 4, Panapanaan 2, Bernardo 2, Pangilinan 2, Garcia 2, De Jesus 1, De Leon 0, Benitez 0, Ferrer 0.
Quarters: 28-14, 42-36, 64-56, 87-85.
– Rappler.com