SBC rips Ateneo; Faith wins

Claiford Arao scored 23 points as San Beda worked methodically inside the paint to trounce Ateneo de Manila, 68-57, yesterday at the start of the quarterfinal round of the Sunkist Youth Basketball Championship at the Makati Coliseum.

Faith Academy matched San Beda’s impressive win with a 72-59 drubbing of Mapua in the other game as the Antipolo-based cagers and the Red Cubs brace for a showdown today, eyeing no less than a spot in the semifinal round of this inaugural event among the country’s top high school teams staged by the Sports Vision Management Group, Inc.

Letran likewise kept its hot streak going as the Squires, who also swept the ;, blasted the Ateneo de Davao quintet, 70-60, in the third game.

Unfancied until it swept its elimination round assignment in Group C, Faith Academy drew 25 points from playmaker Nathan Perry to emerge as one of the teams to watch in this eight-day tournament sponsored by Sunkist and backed by Air Philippines, Purefoods, Alaska, Molten, Burlington and Pagcor, Petron, Agfa and Photoplus and P.J. Lhuillier.

Only five players scored for Faith, but with William Cannington and Ty Grossman churning out 22 ad 17 points, respectively, the Metro Manila Basketball League champions proved too much for the Red Robins.

The 6-foot-4 Arao scored 11 of his 19 attempts in the shaded area and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Red Cubs, who used a big first quarter run to dominate the Blue Eaglets and stretch their win streak to three counting the first two in the elims.

Joseph Casio tossed in 17 points while Jayfleson Agbayani added 12 for San Beda, which yielded the boards, 26-28, but more than made up for this by sinking 25 of their 55 attempts for a 45 percent clip. Ateneo had a 39 percent norm on 22 of 58 shooting.

The Red Cubs jumped the gun early on the Blue Eaglets, pouring 24 points in the first quarter while holding their rivals to just 10 markers. The Loyola-based cagers spent the day chasing the Red Cubs to no avail as the latter held sway the rest of the way.