THE San Sebastian Stags ended their campaign in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association on a high note, beating the Arellano Chiefs, 91-63, on the final play date of the elimination round on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Despite already out of the running for the playoffs, it did not stop the Stags from finishing in a flurry, using a strong second-quarter effort against the Chiefs and never looking back to win two straight to finish their NCAA Season 94 campaign with a 6-12 record, good for joint sixth place.
Arellano had it swinging to open the contest, racing to an 18-14 lead in the first quarter.
In the second quarter though San Sebastian would crank things up, led by veterans RK Ilagan, Allyn Bulanadi, and Michael Calisaan.
They would build a 32-26 advantage with four minutes remaining in the frame before speeding to a 49-30 separation by the halftime break.
The Chiefs opened the third quarter with a 7-4 run to narrow the gap, 53-37, after the first three minutes.
San Sebastian, however, was quick to nip the rally to the bud.
It went on to outscore Arellano, 20-9, the rest of the way to take a commanding 73-46 lead heading into the payoff quarter.
With the match under their control, the Stags spent the final frame fending off the Chiefs’ attempts to come back.
San Sebastian held an 82-54 lead with under five minutes left and eventually cruised to the win after.
Graduating player Calisaan led the Stags with 24 points and 12 rebounds followed by Ilagan with 13 points and Bulanadi with 11.
Arellano (5-13), meanwhile, was paced by Rence Alcoriza with 17 points with Michael Canete adding 10 points.
“It was a rough season for us, with a lot of issues, including that of RK (Ilagan) that had us forfeiting games. But despite those we were able to recover and build character and unity along the way. Unfortunately we fell short,” said San Sebastian coach Egay Macaraya after their season ended, touching on the forfeited games they were meted by the league over Ilagan playing in a league not sanctioned by the NCAA in the offseason.
The Chiefs, for their part, ended their Season 94 bid with three straight defeats. They also saw erstwhile coach Jerry Codiñera step down from his post midway into the tournament. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
