Adeogun powers Lions closer to Final 4, Knights stay alive

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda used Nigerian Ola Adeogun as a battering ram as it overpowered a Noube Happi-less Emilio Aguinaldo, 96-80, on Monday to move closer to a ninth straight Final Four appearance in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

The 6-8 Adeogun pounded his way to a game-high 25 points and 12 rebounds to help seal the Lions their 11th victory in 13 games, or a couple of games shy of making the Final Four for the ninth year in row and get closer to winning four straight titles and seven of the last eight along the way.

So dominating was Adeogun that he did everything in just 18 minutes.

After a sluggish first half when he was held to just five points and three boards in eight minutes, Adeogun went on juggernaut mode in the second, pouring in 12 in the third quarter and eight in the final period in 10 minutes.

Adeogun said this is his way of saying sorry for missing practice that led to his one-game suspension and eventually a first round loss to archrival Letran last month.

"It's my way of making up for my mistake and telling my team and teammates sorry," said Adeogun.

Baser Amer scattered 18 points, 14 of which came in the first half when San Beda made its move, while Arthur dela Cruz had an equally solid performance with 14 points, 15 caroms and three asssists.

San Beda coach Boyet Fernandez said it helped his team a lot that EAC's source of inside strength, the 6-7 Happi, was out due to lingering back problems.

"Entering the game, we didn't really know if Happi will play. So it helped us a lot that he did not," said Fernandez.

The Generals played only eight players and were led by John Tayongtong's 14 points.

But with Happi down and out, EAC just couldn't find an answer to Adeogun, who scored and rebounded at will.

The loss sent EAC to a 10th defeat against three wins and out of the Final Four race.

In the second game, Letran edged San Sebastian, 75-73, to improve to 6-7 and stay in the Final Four hunt.

Kevin Racal lead his team with 20 points while Mark Cruz and John Tambeling added 17 and 13, respectively.

The Stags had a chance to force overtime after Letran's Rey Nambatac missed two foul shots with 4.7 seconds to go but Balucanag's lay up was nullified with no time remaining, sending them to a 10th straight defeat and 11th overall against three wins.

The Scores:

First Game

San Beda (96) -- Adeogun 25, Amer 18, Dela Cruz 14, Cabañag 7, Pascual 7, A. Semerad 6, Mendoza 4, Mocon 4, Abude 3, Tongco 3, Sorela 3, Koga 2, Sara 0, Abatayo 0, D. Semerad 0.

EAC (80) -- Tayongtong 14, Mejos 13, Jamon 13, Saludo 12, Onwubere 9, Arquero 9, Serrano 7, General 3.

Quarterscores: 17-12, 40-27, 71-46, 96-80.

Second Game

Letran 75- Racal 20, Cruz 17, Tambeling 13, Gabawan 9, Publico 6, Nambatac 5, Saldua 3, Ruaya 2, Calvo 0, Dela Pena 0, Quinto 0, Singontiko 0

San Sebastian 73- Perez 22, Dela Cruz 16, Guinto 16, Balucanag 6, Yong 6, Pretta 3, Ortuoste 2, Santos 2, Calisaan 0, Fabian 0, Costelo 0

Quarterscores: 20-24; 39-31; 68-54; 75-73