MANILA, Philippines — San Beda reaffirmed its status as among the country’s leading collegiate squads, overpowering La Salle, 74-57, yesterday to sweep its way to a third crown in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup at the Flying V Centre.
Trailing by a point at the break, the Lions tightened the grip in the third quarter and held the Archers to just seven points while erupting for 24 of their own to erect a 57-41 lead. And they never looked back from there, roaring on to clinch a third crown in eight finals.
It’s a sweet sweep – a repeat of the same feat the Lions accomplished in 2017.
San Beda settled an old score with La Salle, with the Lions now taking the upper hand, 3-2, in five championship showdowns.
La Salle won over San Beda in 2007 and 2014 but the Lions got even with triumphs in 2015 and 2017.
Cameroonian Donald Tankoua powered his way to 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half, with the youthful, bandana-wearing duo of James Canlas and Evan Nelle also providing tremendous energy.
Canlas had 15 points and seven rebounds while Nelle had four points, 10 assists and three boards.
Earlier, Jerrick Ahanmisi went on a three-point shooting spree as Adamson routed Lyceum of the Philippines University, 96-63, to clinch third place.
Ahanmisi drained a season-high eight booming triples and finished with a game-high 31 points to power the Falcons to the easy victory.
The scores:
SAN BEDA 74 – Tankoua 17, Canlas 15, Doliguez 13, Oftana 9, Penuela 7, Bahio 5, Nelle 4, Carino 2, Etrata 2, Abuda 0, Noah 0, Obenza 0, Soberano 0.
LA SALLE 57 – Serrano 12, Baltazar 8, Bartlett 7, Capacio 7, Lojera 6, Melecio 5, Cagulangan 5, Bates 4, Caracut 2, Lim 1, Cu 0, David 0, Escandor 0, Bongay 0, Manaytay 0 .
Quarterscores: 12-12, 33-34, 57-41, 74-57