Red Lions smother Pirates

MANILA, Philippines - San Sebastian leaned on a strong second half to repulse Perpetual Help, 87-60, even as defending champion San Beda brushed off Lyceum’s stiff challenge, 89-69, to remain unscathed in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Calvin Abueva came off the bench to deliver 31 points on top of 15 rebounds and seven assists while Ronald Pascual added 29 points as the Stags rolled to a third straight victory.

“We played flat in the first half but we made some major adjustments in the last two quarters allowing us to pull away,” said San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson.

The Lions, on the other hand, continued to perform well despite the absence of 2010 season and finals MVP Sudan Daniel, notching a second straight win to tie Letran at second place.

Garvo Lanete led the Lions with 19 points including four booming triples while the frontcourt troika of Kyle Pascual, Dave Marcelo and Jake Pascual combined for 25 points and 23 boards, ably filling the hole left by Daniel’s ouster due to an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) tear.

“Our big men are getting better in rebounding and playing defense. They’re getting the job done,” said San Beda coach Frankie Lim.

Dexter Zamora and Chris Cayabyab churned in 21 and 16 points, respectively, while Allan Santos, a transferee from Adamson, posted a third straight double-double effort with 15 points and 12 caroms for the Pirates.

In high school action, reigning titlist San Beda annihilated a listless Lyceum, 163-28, to jumpstart its back-to-back championship bid.

The Cubs, who topped the ASEAN Schools Championship in Singapore last week, went into the game on attack mode and won by 135 points – the largest in the league since San Beda dumped Angeles U Foundation, 168-24, on Aug. 31, 2009.

All the 15 players fielded in by San Beda mentor Brit Reroma scored at least two points with Von Abatayo leading the way with 24 points.

Former Cub star Baser Amer chipped in six after making four in his senior debut

“It’s really hard to make the transition from high school to college ball but he’s learning the ropes,” said Lim of his talented guard, a triple-double machine when he was still with the Cubs.

NCAA notes: Lyceum’s high school team from General Trias, Cavite was formed just last May to meet the requirements set by the league for its acceptance. According to Mancom, the Junior Pirates come from a school with a population of 70-plus students, including a big group of Koreans.

The scores:

First Game (srs)

San Sebastian 87 – Abueva 31, Pascual 29, Sangalang 10, Maiquez 5, Miranda 4, Semira 3, Antipuesto 3, Del Rio 2, Ferrer 0, Balucanag 0, Dela Cruz 0, Vitug 0

Perpetual Help 60 – Jolangcob 13, Vidal 11, Sumera 8, Alano 8, Sison 8, Arboleda 7, Elopre 3, Thompson 2, Tonggal 0, Paulino 0, Parico 0, Asuncion 0

Quarterscores: 15-15; 35-31; 58-45; 87-60

Second Game

San Beda 89 – Lanete 19, K. Pascual 10, Lim 9, J. Pascual 8, Dela Rosa 8, Marcelo 7, Amer 6, Villahermosa 5, A. Semerad 5, D. Semerad 4, Caram 4, Sorela 2, Koga 2.

Lyceum 69 – Zamora 21, Cayabyab 16, Santos 15, Laude 4, Guevarra 3, Lesmoras 3, Mallari 3, Lacap 2, Azores 2, Napiza 0, Anacta 0

Quarterscores: 24-16, 42-25, 69-48, 89-69

Joey Villar, Philippine Star