Pascual steps out of Abueva's shadows

For most of the first round, Ronald Pascual played behind the shadows of teammate Calvin Abueva and is happy being a silent contributor in San Sebastian's campaign in the 87th NCAA men's basketball tournament. But on the final day of the first round of elimination, the veteran big man made his presence felt in a rematch of last year's championship series. Pascual took the cudgels from a foul-stricken Abueva, then made a key pass in the homestretch to power the Golden Stags to a 70-68 win over the San Beda Red Lions to compete a nine-sweep of the first half of the season. The Pampanga-native finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks as San Sebastian handed San Beda its first-ever loss after 26 consecutive games. "Sobrang sarap na manalo kami sa kanila," said Pascual, who was easily named as the ACCEL-3XVI NCAA Press Corps Player of the Week. "Sobrang sakit nung mga talo namin (against San Beda last year) at talagang naghanda kami ng mabuti para sa game na ito." After missing most of last season's second round, Pascual has bounced back with ease as he is averaging 19.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists and is fifth in the Most Valuable Player race with 46.1 statistical points. Against San Beda, Pascual stretched a slim second-quarter lead with two consecutive three-pointers then made key baskets to keep the Red Lions at bay. With the Red Lions threatening in the final moments of the match, Pascual drove inside the shaded lane to attract the San Beda defense before dropping a pass to Abueva for the marginal basket that broke a 68-all tie with 2:07 remaining. The lead held on and San Sebastian escaped with the win. Pascual beat Abueva for the weekly honor handed out by scribes from various broadsheets, tabloids and online publications. - JVP, GMA News