NCAA: Sangalang powers Stags to 8th win

MANILA, Philippines - The San Sebastian Stags bounced back from a listless 1st half to defeat the Mapua Cardinals, 71-66, and remain undefeated in Season 87 of the NCAA.

Ian Sangalang churned out a double-double effort of 20 points and 10 boards for the Stags. He also had 3 blocked shots.

The 2 other members of San Sebastian's "Pampanga Trio" also had solid games. Calvin Abueva had 17 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, while Ronald Pascual added 13 points.

After a poor 1st half that saw San Sebastian shoot only 15 of 36 from the field and commit 11 turnovers, the Stags came out firing in the 3rd period.

They reeled off a 17-6 run to start the 3rd, punctuated by a coast-to-coast lay-up from Abueva.

But the Cardinals kept the game close thanks to a 7-2 run to end the period.

The Stags took control once again in the 4th quarter, thanks to 5 straight points from Sangalang that gave San Sebastian a 6-point lead, 56-50.

After a put-back dunk from Yousef Taha cut the deficit to 4, 62-58, Sangalang once again came through for the Stags with a lay-up on the other end.

The Cardinals tried to get back in the game as they started bombing away from 3-point area, but were unable to convert.

Pascual iced the win for San Sebastian with a pair of charities.

Even though the Cardinals were the taller team, the Stags were able to win the battle of the boards. In particular, San Sebastian dominated the offensive rebounds and had 17 second chance points.

The Cardinals actually led in the 1st half, 34-30, thanks to Allan Mangahas.

Mangahas scored 11 points in the 1st half on a variety of drives and jump shots.

But the Mapua point guard was largely ineffective in the 2nd half as the San Sebastian defense shackled him.

Mangahas ended up with 14 points for the Cardinals, the last 3 of which came on a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Taha led Mapua with 16 points and 12 rebounds.

San Sebastian is now 8-0 for the season, while Mapua drops to 2-6.

Camile Narredo, ABS-CBN News