Fr. Martin Cup: San Beda wins via forfeit, Letran stays undefeated

Reigning champion San Beda College Red Lions booked one of the remaining Group A quarterfinals berths in an unorthodox manner on their home court, while the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates and the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights also clinched spots in the quarterfinals in their games at the Arellano University Gym, last Saturday in the 8th Fr. Martin Collegiate Open Cup. The Red Lions picked up win number four when the Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals were forced to forfeit the game after a  brawl broke out with the score tied at 64-all. The Cardinals’ Jonathan Banal knotted things up with a triple, but after a Red Lions’ miss, trash-talk between him and Fil-Am recruit Julius Armon led to a punch being thrown, followed by a bench-clearing incident with 3:22 left to play. Ejections then followed for Banal, Armon, and players from both teams that stepped on to the court. But as a result, Cardinals head coach Chito Victolero was forced to wave the white flag, as he had just four eligible players left, compared to the six of San Beda. In the other match, the Pirates, a guest team in the NCAA last season, limited the Trinity University of Asia Stallions to just six fourth quarter points, enroute to a 66-57 victory, enough to get them into the next round of play.   San Beda moved to 4-1 in Group A play, tying them with Arellano U., which dealt them their only loss, while Mapua sunk to 1-5. In the same group, Lyceum improved to 4-2, while the dispatched Trinity found themselves at 2-5. Only National U. stands unbeaten in Group A with a 6-0 card. In the sole Group B game of the day, Kevin Alas banged in 20 points as the Letran Knights put away fellow Group B quarterfinalist University of the East Warriors, 85-72. The two teams had entered the game with similar 5-0 records, but only Letran was able to stay immaculate, pinning the first loss on UE. — AMD, GMA News