Mapua beats San Beda to keep Final four bid alive
Mapua University dealt San Beda their first loss in the NCAA Season 97 seniors basketball tournament, 68-54, to boost their Final Four bid at La Salle Greenhills St. Benilde Gym in Mandaluyong City.
The win improved Mapua's record to 6-2 behind a three-game winning streak in the hopes of reaching the top two slots for an automatic semifinal spot and a twice-to-beat advantage while San Beda tainted their slate for a 6-1 card.
Toby Agustin scored a game-high 15 points while Paolo Hernandez came off the bench to produce 14 points, 13 big rebounds, two assists, and two steals for the Cardinals.
Warren Bonifacio added 13 markers for the Cardinals while Nocum finished with eight, including his two big three-pointers in the fourth period.
In the Red Lions’ side, James Kwekuteye scored 14 and Penuela had 13 markers to keep San Beda afloat but no other player scored more than six points which did not help their cause.
Mapua’s win over San Beda marks their first defeat in the eliminations round since Season 95.
"Sa totoo lang, hindi muna namin 'yun iniisip. Magre-ready pa rin kami sa Lyceum kasi mababalewala itong panalo namin dito kung tatalunin kami ng Lyceum," said head coach Randy Alcantara regarding the win.
The elusive semifinal slot for the #2 team is still up for grabs as San Beda will close the elimination round against the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and #1 seed Collegio de San Juan de Letran.
The Cardinals will close out their elimination round campaign against Lyceum of the Philippines University (2-5) on April 27 at 12 NN., while the Red Lions will look to bounce back against another tough team in De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (5-3) on April 26 at 12 NN.
Tags: #NCAA, #basketball, #Mapua