MANILA, Philippines – Reigning NCAA champion San Beda used a mighty start to deflate a late fightback by State U and pulled off a 70-58 win to nail its second straight victory in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan City Friday.
Skipper Rome Dela Rosa came with another strong effort as he fired a team-high 18 points while Nigerian Ola Adeogun had 12 points and seven rebounds to help the Lions improve to 2-1 (win-loss slate).
The Mendiola-based dribblers rode on a fast start when they led by as much as 28 points, 56-28, capped by a basket by Ryusei Koga late in the third quarter.
Led by Andrew Harris and Raul Soyud, the Maroons slowly but surely clawed their way back and sliced it down to just a 56-68 deficit, the closest they got as they just ran out of time the rest of the way.
Earlier, Arellano U drew strength from rookie Keith Agovida as it overcame Perpetual Help, 74-65, to open its title bid with a bang.
Agovida, who scored 82 points when he was playing with Jose Rizal in an NCAA high school game a few years back, had 11 points and four boards and provided the defense that helped limit Nigerian Nosa Omorogbe to a nightmarish 2-of-12 field goals.
"Keith is a nice addition to our team, he helped us a lot in this game and he knows what to do," said Arellano U coach Koy Banal.
Led by Fil-Canadian James Forrester, the Chiefs zoomed to a 26-12 lead and a 43-26 advantage after the first half and were never threatened from there.
"Something is missing," Perpetual's veteran mentor Aric del Rosario, for his part, said as he rued the absence of Jett Vidal and George Allen, who already graduated, and Scott Earl Thompson, who is out due to injury.
The scores:
First Game
Arellano 74 – Hernandez 13, Jalalon 12, Forrester 12, Agovida 11, Pinto 8, Salcedo 6, Nicholls 6, Cadavis 2, Enriquez 2, Ruiz 2, Caperal0, Bangga 0, David 0, Gumaru 0.
Perpetual Help 65 – Baloria 22, Omorogbe 15, Arboleda 14, Alano 6, Jolangcob 5, Ylagan 2, Oliveria 1, Elorpe 0, Bantayan 0, Lucente 0, Dizon 0, Sadiwa 0.
Quarterscores: 17-12, 43-26, 58-45, 74-65
Second Game
SBC (70) – Dela Rosa 18, Adeogun 12, Abarcar 10, Koga 9, Ludovice 8, Dela Cruz 4, Semerad A. 4, Pascual 2, Sara 2, Semerad D. 1, Abatayo 0, Bonsubre 0, Mendoza 0.
UP (58) – Marata 13, Reyes 8, Romero 8, Soyud 8, Lao 5, Desiderio 4, Harris 4, Wong 4, Amar 2, Paras 1, Suarez 1, Asilum 0, Ball 0, Gallarza 0, Gingerich 0, Ligad 0.
Quarterscores: 24-13, 43-25, 58-38, 70-58