BY John Miles Arcenal
SAN Beda flexed its muscle on Arellano, 76-53, to notch its third straight win in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan.
Following their 79-70 statement win against defending champion Mapua a week ago, the Red Lions further cemented their spot atop the so-called “Group of Death” with a 5-1 record.
First-year forward Janti Miller was in his usual fine form, finishing with 20 points, seven rebounds, and an assist, while Jomel Puno chipped in 10 points and eight boards.
“I’m just challenging them every day in practice. We can’t take everything lightly, just not take any team for granted, especially Arellano, a team we actually lost to twice in the preseason,” said head coach Yuri Escueta.
After taking control of the opening quarter, San Beda made sure to stay afloat even when the upstart Chiefs tried to close the gap in the second frame. From there, the red-and-white never backed down and even ballooned their lead to as much as 27 points in the payoff period.
“Tinalo kami ng Arellano noong U-Belt Cup at dito sa Filoil (Preseason). Kaya sinasabi ko lang sa kanila na this team knows they can beat us,” Escueta shared.
“Although gano’n ‘yung standing nila sa kabilang bracket, hindi natin sila pwedeng i-take for granted. And we also know ‘yung capabilities nila.”
San Beda's balance
The Red Lions' bench came up big with 40 points compared to their counterparts' total of 20, bannered by Ismael Culdora’s nine points and Zed Etulle’s eight-point, 12-rebound outing.
“Very big today. I’d like to commend our second group - Jimmy [Reyes], Zed, MJ [Vailoces], Miles - huge positives. Very important ‘yung guys off the bench,” said their tactician.
T-Mc Ongotan paced now-3-4 Arellano with 14 points and three rebounds, while Anjord Cabotaje and CJ Libang added 10 and seven, respectively.
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