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| Ivan Saldajeno |
SAN JUAN, MM—San Beda recovered from a sluggish start to surpass La Salle, 79-53, to claim the championship of the FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup at the FilOil Flying V Arena on Sunday night.
Down 8-15 early in the second quarter, the Red Lions, behind Pierre Tankoua, Radge Tongco, and Ryusei Koga, launched a 24-6 run to take a 32-21 advantage with 24.3 seconds left in the period.
The match became emotional when the San Beda bench resented to a foul called by the referee as the people thought Jeron Teng just sold the three-point shooting act. Ola Adeogun kicked a box of giveaway snacks in disgust and walked out to the dugout. He immediately returned to the bench and was assessed with a technical foul along with Coach Jamike Jarin. Teng made all his five free throws to close the gap to six, 26-32, at halftime.
That turned out to be the Green Archers' final attack as the Red Lions continued pouncing them in the second half, opening a 28-point lead late in the fourth quarter and never looking back.
Ryusei Koga led San Beda, which won the preseason tourney for the first time, with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal even as Arth Dela Cruz, who was named the MVP, added ten markers, five rebounds, and three assists.
Adeogun put his late first half frustration to the game as he made nine of his 11 points in thr final 20 minutes while tallying a double-double with 13 rebounds along with three blocks.
Teng, who joined Dela Cruz in the Mythical Five, finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds for the erstwhile champion La Salle, which failed to notch back-to-back titles. Fellow Mythical Team member Andrei Caracut added ten markers and two assists.
Teng, Dela Cruz, and Caracut are joined by Perpetual Help's Bright Akhuetie and Mapua's Allwell Oraeme in the Mythical Five.
Box Scores:
San Beda 79-Koga 18, Tankoua 12, Adeogun 11, Dela Cruz 10, Tongco 8, Sara 6, Mendoza 6, Sorela 6, Mocon 2, Reyes 0, Soberano 0, Sedillo 0, Presbitero 0, Carlos 0, Abude 0, Abuda 0
La Salle 53-Teng 21, Caracut 10, Torres 8, Perkins 6, Tratter 6, Sargent 2, Go 0, Torralba 0, Muyang 0, Gob 0, Pascual 0
Quarterscores: 8-13, 32-26, 59-37, 79-53
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