MANILA, Philippines – San Beda University’s continued pursuit of a Final Four spot in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament was fueled last week by athletic forward Jomel Puno.
The Filipino-Canadian’s sense of urgency showed up more evidently following the go signal given by his coaches to be more aggressive as the first round of the eliminations nears its end.
As he steered the Red Lions to a 2-0 stretch, Puno earned this week’s iteration of the Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week backed by the Philippine Sports Commission with Discovery Suites and World Balance as minor sponsors for the period of October 1-5.
The Season 99 champion on Tuesday played a big role in helping San Beda emerge victorious against its most fabled rival Colegio de San Juan de Letran as he dropped a stellar double-double to the tune of 22 points, his career-high scoring output, and 10 rebounds to gift the Red Lions a 66-64 win over the Knights in thrilling fashion.
Just days after, Puno again spearheaded the Red Lions to a 63-62 dub over Perpetual Help on Saturday with 16 points and eight rebounds built on a blistering 45.5 percent field goal shooting clip.
“Throughout last season and the start of this season, I felt like I was too laid back [with] being a supporter,” said Puno after the win.
“After I got the go signal from my coaches and teammates, I tried doing my best, which I haven’t been able to do [in a while].”
In Puno’s exceptional week where he averaged 19 points, nine rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, San Beda rose to the occasion with a 5-3 win-loss card to momentarily secure the solo-fourth seed.
Puno zoomed past Jose Rizal University’s Joshua Guiab, Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s Jimboy Estrada and the reigning Most Valuable Player from Mapua, Clint Escamis for the weekly award given by scribes reporting for the collegiate beat.