JOHN Barba emerged as the top scorer after a wild and wooly first round of the NCAA Season 100 seniors basketball tournament.
The fourth-year forward has been carrying the load for Lyceum, as he netted 19.78 points from 37.7-percent three-point shooting and a 73.8-percent clip from the charity stripe.
Barba’s superb scoring has allowed the Pirates to stay in the thick of the things, as they sport a 4-5 win-loss record.
But not far behind is reigning MVP Clint Escamis who got 17.44 points to buoy Mapua to joint second-place with its 6-3 card.
San Sebastian guard Paeng Are sits at third with 16.33 points, followed by Letran slasher Jimboy Estrada with 16.0 points, and Jose Rizal University banger Joshua Guiab with 15.56 points.
Completing the top 10 in scoring are LPU’s Mac Guadana (15.29 points), Emilio Aguinaldo College’s King Gurtiza (15.22 points), San Sebastian’s Raymart Escobido (14.44 points), St. Benilde’s Allen Liwag (14.11 points), and Perpetual rookie Mark Gojo Cruz (13.78 points).
Liwag, meanwhile, is head and shoulders above everyone on the boards with the Blazers big grabbing 12.67 rebounds per game to anchor the Taft crew to the top of the standings at 7-2.
He is way ahead of everyone, with San Sebastian’s Tristan Felebrico at second (8.22 rebounds), Estrada at third (7.89 rebounds), and the San Beda pair of Jomel Puno and Yukien Andrada tied for fourth (6.78 rebounds).
Estrada has been getting it done for the Knights, as he led the assists category together with LPU’s Greg Cunanan, both dishing out 5.0 dimes per game. Not far behind are Are with 4.78 assists, CSB’s Tony Ynot with 4.25 assists, and Escamis with 4.11 assists.
Are is the steals leader with his 2.67 swipes per game, with Escamis chasing him with 2.22. Tied for third were Arellano’s T-Mc Ongotan, Cunanan, and Escobido with 1.89 steals each.
Letran’s Kevin Santos tops the league in rejections with 2.67 blocks per game. In the top five of that department are Jose Rizal University’s Ivan Panapanaan (1.56 blocks), Liwag (1.44 blocks), and the EAC frontline of Gelo Loristo and Wilmar Oftana (1.22 blocks).
The devil is in the details in NCAA
Of the scorers, Guiab had the best field goal mark, making 60-percent of his shots, followed by Liwag (51.96-percent), teammate Jhomel Ancheta (50.91-percent), Estrada (50.43-percent), and another Blazer in Justine Sanchez (50-percent).
Puno has shot the best from rainbow country at 55-percent shooting, making 11 of his 20 threes. Following suit are Mapua’s MC Cuenco (45.28-percent), Arellano’s Maverick Vinoya (38.24-percent), Barba (37.7-percent), and Andrada (32.76-percent).
Santos also made the most of his freebies, making 19 of his 21 free throws for Letran – a sky-high 90.48-percent. Behind him were Escamis (82.98-percent), JRU’s Marvin Raymundo (82.35-percent), Gojo Cruz (80.77-percent), and Ongotan (80-percent).
Knight Estrada, however, also commits the most miscues with 4.78 errors per game. After him are Ynot (2.75 turnovers), Escamis and Barba (2.67 turnovers), and Sanchez (2.56 turnovers).
His error-prone ways are justified, though, with Estrada playing the most minutes logging in 32 minutes and 49 seconds of action, with the odometers of Liwag (32:44) and Escamis (32:21) also being stretched. Also in the top five are Letran’s Deo Cuajao (31:42) and Andrada (29:57).
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