JAMES CANLAS and Evan Nelle provided the clutch shots for San Beda to elude De La Salle, 83-78, and stay unbeaten in five games in the FilOil Flying V Preseason Cup on Friday at the Arena in San Juan City.
Down 57-61 to the gritty Green Archers heading into the payoff period, the Red Lions banked on their two super sophomores to complete a fourth-quarter comeback and clinch a quarterfinals berth with a perfect 5-0 win-loss record.
Canlas delivered 15 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, while Nelle also put up the finishing touches in the final period — capped with a dagger three for a 83-78 breather with 1:06 remaining.
The second year point guard finished with 12 points on top of five rebounds and two assists, while Arnaud Noah added 11 markers.
“We're happy with the way we played. We really made it a point to try to manage their guards,” San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez said. “La Salle is a very guard oriented team.”
Fernandez was glad that his wards showed their vast-improvement from their Las Vegas training camp hoping to keep peaking up for NCAA Season 95.
“The training we had in the States is really about improving their skills. That's why we we’re also making our shots tonight.
I hope they will mature early and help lead this team,” he added.
Andrei Caracut led La Salle with 14 points and dished out seven assists. Justine Baltazar put up 13 points and seven rebounds, while Encho Serrano added 11 markers.
The Green Archers dropped to 4-2 win-loss record falling at No. 3 in Group A behind San Sebastian (4-1).
The scores:
SAN BEDA 83 - Canlas 20, Nelle 12, Noah 11, Doliguez 9, Tankoua 7, Oftana 5, Carino 4, Bahio 4, Etrata 3, Alfaro 3, Abuda 2, Penuela 2, Cuntapay 1, Soberano 0
LA SALLE 78 - Caracut 14, Baltazar 13, Serrano 11, Bonggay 9, Capacio 8, Melecio 6, Cu 6, Lojera 5, Barlett 3, Lim 3, David 0, Manuel 0, Escandor 0
QUARTER SCORES: 19-20, 43-40, 57-61, 83-78
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