College of Saint Benilde-La Salle Green Hills is working its way up the NCAA Season 98 juniors basketball tournament, dealing another loss to defending champion San Beda University, 87-84, on Friday at the EAC Gym.
LSGH, which opened the tournament with two losses, has now improved to 3-2 behind three consecutive wins while San Beda dropped to 2-3 after back-to-back defeats which first saw the Red Cubs fall to Mapua University last Wednesday.
La Salle trailed by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter before dominating the final period, 25-12, en route to the win.
Seven Gagate, who struggled offensively in the previous game against Arellano University, led the Greenies this time around with a game-high of 22 points alongside 14 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
Four other LSGH cagers finished in double-digit scoring with Christian Mesias dropping a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while James Ison chipped in 13 markers and six boards. Both Ethan Alian and Gian Gomez chimed in with 10 makers with the former also churning out 10 rebounds.
Andrei Dungo had another all-around performance with 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and two steals but the Red Cubs could not get the job done to lose two games in a row now.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian College-Recoletos picked up its third win after eking out an 81-70 triumph over Jose Rizal University to go 3-2 in the team standings while the Light Bombers dropped to 2-3.
Ernest Geronimo was solid for the Staglets as he finished with 17 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, one steal, and one block while three others finished in double figures in scoring.
Rion Porcadas and Arjay Hernandez registered 14 markers each and Mark De Leon added 10.
They spoiled a big performance from JRU's Martin Pineda, who scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the loss.
University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, meanwhile, bounced back from a previous loss after ripping EAC by 15, 96-81, to keep the hosts still winless in the tournament. Amiel Acido led the charge for the Junior Altas with 22 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block.
Icee Callangan also had another promising outing, chipping in 18 markers, five boards, and three dimes as Perpetual sent the Brigadiers to a 0-5 slate.
Liam Bautista led EAC with 24 points while Mark Mariquit listed a double-double effort of 17 markers and 10 rebounds.
LSGH and San Sebastian both return to action on Monday with the former facing host Emilio Aguinaldo College while the latter takes on Lyceum of the Philippines University. San Beda and JRU will also look to bounce back on Monday against University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Colegio de San Juan de Letran, respectively.
The scores:
First game
Benilde-La Salle Green Hills 87 - Gagate 22, Mesias 16, Ison 13, Alian 10, Gomez 10, Romero 9, Pablo 7, Zaragoza 0, Rivero 0.
San Beda 84 - Dungo 16, Hubilla 14, Lopez 11, Mundas 11, Lecciones 10, Lorenzo 7, Canete 6, Reyes 6, Wagan 3, Ronquillo 0, Ludovice 0, Jomalesa 0, Sollano 0.
Quarters: 17-18, 36-49, 62-72, 87-84.
Second game
San Sebastian 81 - Geronimo 17, Porcadas 14, Hernandez 14, De Leon 10, Balbao 8, Danag 5, Jardinico 4, Parba 3, Caysido 2, Bularin 2, Datario 2, Reyes 0, Rojas 0.
JRU 70 - Pineda 28, Discutido 20, De Leon 10, Mina 5, Enal 4, Rimas 2, Ilio 1, Guarino 0, Natividad 0, Marin 0, Lozano 0, Capistrano 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarters: 12-15, 40-32, 64-53, 81-70.
Third game
Perpetual 96 - Acido 22, Callangan 18, Pagulayan 18, Montemayor 11, Daep 11, Montero 8, Vergara 2, Bernaldez 2, Kress 2, Panelo 1, Ngo 1, Valencia 0, De Ala 0, Canlas 0, Mascarinas 0.
EAC 81 - Bautista 24, Mariquit 17, Villanueva 14, Castillo 8, Dungo 6, Dispo 4, Bailon 4, Falsado 2, Tecson 2, Tenorio 0, Bonafe 0, Cuizon 0, Balan 0.
Quarters: 23-19, 48-39, 70-57, 96-81.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
