FilOil: St. Clare ends campaign with a win, trumps Mapua

The St. Clare Saints closed out their first FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup stint with a victory as they repelled the Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals, 85-81, on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Saints end their maiden season with two victories in six contests, ending fifth in Group B. The Cardinals meanwhile cap off the Premier Cup with a 1-5 card, good for sixth.

“Noong nagmiss yung fast break ni Redoh Favien, ayun na, nag-iba na yung laro,” said St. Clare head coach Jinno Manansala. “Hindi naman sa hindi ako satisfied, malaki tiwala mga players ko kahit ganyan ginagawa nila. Sa bandang huli, main goal namin e dumepensa talaga.”

St. Clare led by as much as 17 points in the payoff period but saw the lead melt away as the Cardinals made a comeback in the dying minutes of the quarter, coming within three points with just 32 seconds remaining in the game. The Saints smartly dribbled out the clock though, and hung tough as they withstood a 24-17 fourth quarter from Mapúa.

St. Clare guard Marte Gil and deadeye Jayson Ibay each had 17 points, with Gil adding seven boards. Slot man Jam Jamito tallied 12 points and five rebounds while reserve Robin Dulalia fired for 11. The Saints won the rebounding battle, 40-29, securing the W despite 13 turnovers and 25 fouls.

“Para sa amin kasi, kailangan mag-focus kami,” said Gil. “Last game na namin ito, kumabaga mga nakaraan na game namin, talagang lumalaban kami, pero natatalo kami. Sa game na ito, buhos na namin lahat.”

Mapua jumped to an early 6-1 lead, led by Andrew Estrella who slashed to the rim on two consecutive possessions, but Marte Gil cashed in on two triples to headline an 8-0 run for his side, 9-6, as MIT head coach Atoy Co sued for time.

The Cards fared no better after though, failing to convert on low-percentage shots, while the Saints ran the break at every opportunity and made the extra pass, leading to clean looks at the basket. St. Clare outscored Mapua 16-8 after Co's first timeout, to hold a 25-14 first quarter lead.

The Cardinals responded poorly to the Saints' physical play as Jessie Biteng committed an unsportsmanlike foul after throwing an elbow at Marte Gil while Jesse Saitanan received an offensive foul after pounding Jam Jamito too hard at the post. Estrella cut the lead to just nine points twice but the Saints went eye for an eye as they held a 38-25 advantage before a Mapua timeout.

The Saints kept the Cardinals at bay as they closed out the second half with a 47-36 lead.

At the half, Gil paced the Saints with 15 points, nine of them from downtown, to go along with five boards, while Jamito and Jayson Ibay had eight apiece. The Saints shot an above-average 53 percent from the field and out-rebounded their foes 18-10.

Estrella had the hot hand for Mapua, tallying 15 at the half. Joseph Eriobu provided a solid inside presence with 12 points, 10 of them from the paint. Mapua registered a 52 percent field goal clip after making 15-of-29 attempts at the half.

Josan Nimes and Saitanan, both expected to carry the scoring load for Mapua, failed to get anything going in the third as Saitanan sat out the entire period while the taller Redoh Favien covered Nimes. The referees slapped Co with a technical foul for resenting to a call, causing a five-point swing in favor of the Saints, whose lead peaked at 17, 66-49.

The Cards went on an 8-2 run to cap off the quarter but the Saints still held an 11-point halftime lead, 68-57, as Ibay tallied nine third quarter points.

St. Clare reserve Robin Dulalia hit two consecutive triples from the left corner early as he restored the Saints' lead to 17, 74-57. Estrella kickstarted a 7-0 run for the Cards as they chopped the lead down to just nine points, 82-74, as the Saints coaching staff called for time to stop the bleeding. The Cardinals further watered the lead down to six points with just a minute remaining, 84-78.

The Saints botched the ensuing possession, and Rey Cantos hit a 15-footer to cut the lead to just four points, 84-80. Estrella split his charities to make it a one-possession ball game, 84-81. The Saints then melted away the clock with efficient passing, and Ibay made a split as the Saints escaped with the win, 85-81.

Estrella pumped in 29 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Nimes posted 15 points while Eriobu and Biteng added 14 and 11 markers respectively.

The Cardinals had more attempts from the stripe, making 19 out of 25, while turning the ball over fewer times, with just six. They however lost out at the glass, pulling down just 29 boards to the Saints' 40. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

SCC - Gil 17, Ibay 17, Jamito 12, Dulalia 11, Acebron 8, Bolos 8, Favien 5, Managuelod 2, Lunor 2

MIT - Estrella 29, Nimes 15, Eriobu 14, Biteng 11, Cantos 6, Gabo 6, Layug 0, Isit 0, Serrano 0, Saitanan 0

Quarter scoring: 25-14, 47-36, 68-57, 85-81