MAPUA University eked out a 58-55 decision over defending champion San Beda University yesterday in the 100th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan.
Rookie Chris Hubilla spearheaded the Cardinals with nearly a double-double output of 17 points and nine rebounds while Marc Cuenco, who sank crucial shots down the stretch, added 11 markers, five boards and three assists.
With the victory, Mapua solidified its grip of second with a 10-3 card while San Beda sat in third with an 8-5 slate.
“Sa San Beda talagang, alam na natin na ganoon na ang magiging laban, close lagi and maganda lang sa mga players ko ay iyong hustle nga doon kay (Yukien) Andrada so iyon iyong pinaka-key kasi siguro last time Andrada was 20-plus lagi,” Cards coach Randy Alcantara said. “So, this time naka-nine points lang.
“Siguro iyon na iyong pinaka-magandang nagawa namin, sa depensa,” he added.
Sajonia and Jomel Puno led San Beda with 12 and 11 markers, respectively; ndrada finished with nine points along with five boards while Bismark Lino, who previously sparked for the Red Lions, only had six markers after he exited the game with a disqualifying foul late in the third frame.
Earlier, big man Allen Liwag had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds to propel College of St. Benilde to a lopsided 80-65 drubbing of Jose Rizal University 80-65.
Liwag shone with another stellar outing for the Taft-based crew while Ian Torres and Justine Sanchez delivered 16 and 10 markers, respectively, as the Blazers bolstered their Final Four bid after picking up their 10th victory of the season.
The Blazers remained on top with a 10-2 card.
“Kami naman we play naman every team the same way, that’s how we treat NCAA. We respect every team. JRU’s a good team, they’re tough. They always play every team close,” CSB strategist Charles Tiu said.
“They had a few close games na natalo lang sa dulo so we wanted to make sure that we had some breathing room and just play our game, focus on ourselves and try to get better every game and thankfully they’ve played pretty well today.”
