SAN Sebastian made some big shots and big stops in the end game as it outlasted a banged-up Mapua University, 57-56, to get back on track in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament last Sunday at the Filoil Ecooil Center.
After a generally back and forth battle, Rommel Calahat spearheaded an attack in the fourth that gave the Stags the lead for good before Kennth Villapando drained a tough double-pump three pointer to open a 55-49 lead with 2:10 remaining.
[READ: NCAA officiating either too tight or too loose, rues Macaraya]
The Stags then relied on their stingy defense late as they moved to 2-1 to tie Lyceum at the third place.
“First of all, credit to Mapua, alam naman natin na they’ve been playing good defense as we do. I guess breaks of the game at kami lang ang nanalo,” Stags coach Egay Macaraya said.
The Cardinals, last year’s NCAA finalists, tried to make a game out of it by responding with a 7-2 mini-run capped by a Juaqui Garcia three-pointer to trim the lead down to one with 58.7 seconds to go.
Mapua had multiple chances in the waning seconds as after getting a stop on the other end, Toby Agustin was sent to the line to possibly give the Cardinals the lead back.
However, the usually steady Agustin bucked his two free throws. Although the Intramuros-based squad got the offensive rebound, Garcia, had his pockets stolen by Raymart Escobido forcing Mapua to foul to stop the time and try to force a turnover on the inbounds.
They did exactly that as the Stags fumbled their inbounds play, giving the Cardinals one last shot to win the game when Garcia was left unmarked. But the guard missed the potential game winner as the Stags finally sighed easily.
Calahat had a monster game for the Cardinals with 17 points and 17 rebounds while no other Stag breached double-digits in the low-scoring affair.
Calahat’s effort earned him praises from Macaraya.
“Alam naman natin na dati nung time nila Allyn [Bulanadi] at RK [Ilagan] kinakabahan pa yan pag pinapasok. Pero sinasabi ko sa kanya na it’s his time. He’s got the potential to do a lot of things in the game, not just in scoring pero also in defense, in the rebounds, the physicality and the leadership.”
Adrian Nocum led the way for the Cardinals with 15 points, four rebounds and four assists as they sorely missed the services of Paolo Hernandez, who went down with a sprain in the first quarter. They dropped to 1-2 to start the tournament.
The scores:
San Sebastian 57 – Calahat 17, Sumoda 7, Villapando 7, Una 6, Desoyo 5, Shanoda 5, Escobido 4, Felebrico 3, Concha 3, Altamirano 0, Cosari 0, Suico 0, Aguilar 0, Are 0.
Mapua 56 – Nocum 15, Gamboa 12, Agustin 9, Garcia 6, Soriano 5, Salenga 4, Pido 3, Bonifacio 2, Cuenco 0, Hernandez 0, Mercado 0, Parinas 0.
Quarters: 19-15, 30-32, 42-46, 57-56
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
