THE San Sebastian Golden Stags chalked up their second victory in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in impressive fashion on Tuesday, holding off the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 86-76, at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Firing from all cylinders right from the opening tip, the Stags built a huge lead in the first quarter and never looked back after.
Earlier in the day, the league-leading Lyceum Pirates used a strong second half to turn the tables on the Arellano Chiefs and pulled away with the victory, 82-65, for their fourth win in as many games in the ongoing tournament.
Had their groove early, the Stags successfully took the game to the Bombers to race to a 27-15 lead at the end of the first quarter before extending it some more to a 17-point cushion, 51-34, by the halftime break.
In the third quarter, JRU went on a 7-0 blast in the first two minutes to narrow the gap, 51-41.
But the Stags eventually regained their bearing, with Michael Calisaan, RK Ilagan and Allyn Bulanadi helping to steady the ship and allow San Sebastian to stay in control with a 65-56 lead at the end of the period.
The Bombers continued to inch their way to start the fourth canto, coming to within six points, 73-67, with 7:30 to go.
They would not go nearer than that though as the Stags kept finding ways to stave off their opponents en route to the win.
Alvin Capobres led the Stags (2-2) with 16 with Bulanadi and Ilagan adding 14 and 13 points apiece.
MJ Dela Virgen had 14 and Justin Padua had 13 for JRU (0-3).
“It was a total team effort for us in this game. We are still finding our way in the tournament with half of my team new. Hopefully we can stay healthy and keep on improving,” said Stags coach Egay Macaraya after their win.
4-0 PIRATES
Meanwhile, Lyceum kept its unblemished record intact after coming back to beat Arellano, 82-65.
Trailed in the opening half, the Pirates turned on the switch in the second fold to claw their way back and eventually left the Chiefs dead on their tracks on the way to the win that pushed their record to 4-0.
Reigning league most valuable player CJ Perez led the way for Lyceum with a career-high 31 points to go along with six rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Mike Nzeusseu had 15 points while Jesper Ayaay and Jayvee Marcelino added 13 and 11, respectively, for the Pirates.
Michael Canete, meanwhile, paced Arellano (1-1) with 12 points while Adrian Alban had 11. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
