San Beda Pummels Mapua; JRU wins
- Jamil Buergo
- Jun 28, 2015
- 3 min read
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 91st season has officially started as two exciting matches were played preceded by a magnificent opening ceremonies at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The opening rites started with the traditional parade of teams and their respective muses, oath of sportsmanship, and the declaration of opening of the games. Host school provided an opening number to the delight of the crowd in attendance. This season's theme is “NCAA Engineered for Sports Excellence in the New Decade.”
One of Mapua’s distinguished alumni and a PBA legend Alvin Patrimonio described the opening ceremonies as one of the best he’s ever seen. Speaking to a number of scribes after the festivities, he could only reminisce his time as a student athlete then and how the opening ceremonies were done before. “Before, it was simple. With the advancement of technology, things really look different now” Patrimonio said in tagalog.
Also feted on opening day were gold medalists Baser Amer, Giovani Jalalon and Scottie Thompson, who played for the national team that competed in the recent Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.
In the first game, undermanned San Beda Red Lions trashed host school Mapua with an emphatic 102-89 victory. Despite missing the services of ace guard Baser Amer (shoulder) and Ola Adeogun (hamstring) to injuries, the Red Lions rose to the challenge as it pounced the Cardinals on defense and played up-tempo the whole game.
Forward Arth Dela Cruz led the team with 27 points, hauled down 17 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Nigerian centre Moala Tankoua and sophomore Ranbill Tongco backed him up with 18 points each. Coach Jamike Jarin was all praises for his team after getting his first win as an NCAA seniors head coach.
Despite the loss, Mapua showed tremendous improvement from last year led by their returnees Josan Nimes and Andretti Stevens. Rookie AllWell Oraeme also provided intimidating presence in the middle that may pose problems to their future opponents. Nimes, who missed the last two seasons due to injuries led the Cardinals with 23 points (17 in the first half), 7 rebounds and 2 assists. Oraeme had 13 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks for Mapua.
Capping the NCAA’s opening day is the match between Season 90’s runner up Arellano Chiefs and Jose Rizal University. The Heavy Bombers showed their might offensively and defensively as they pummelled the Chiefs, 78-61. Looking to avenge the Heavy Bomber’s defeat in last year’s final four match against the Chiefs, coach Vergel Meneses relied on his prized Cameroonian recruit Abdoul Poutouochi, who had an impressive debut with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks.
JRU played well defensively in the second quarter as they only allowed the chiefs to score nine points. After the half-time break, JRU turned up the notch offensively they pulled away in the third by outscoring them 26-13.
Arellano’s struggle offensively may had been brought about by their star playmaker’s shoulder injury, which he sustained during his stint with the National Team. Jalalon could only score 4 points on 2-10 shooting and had 7 turnovers. So miserable was Jalalon’s performance that he could only bow his head in embarrassment as he was finally called to the bench. Michael Salado led Arellano with 15 points.
The Scores:
First Game
SBC (102)—Dela Cruz 27, Tankoua 18, Tongco 18, Koga 16, Solera 11, Sara 6, Mocon 2, Presbitero 2, Sedillo 2, Cabanag 0, Soberano 0, Reyes 0, Bonsubre 0.
MIT (89)—Nimes 23, Stevens 13, Oraeme 13, Menina 12, Serrano 10, Villasenor 8, Que 3, Raflores 3, Brana 3, Brana 2, Dela Rosa 2, Biteng 0, Nieles 0, Aguirre 0, Layug 0.
Quarters: 23-20, 49-38, 73-65, 102-89
Second Game
JRU (78)—Poutouochi 23, Teodoro 11, Abdul Wahab 9, Lasquety 8, Sanchez 7, Dela Paz 6, Grospe 6, Pontejos 4, Aurin 2, Astilla 0, Balagtas 0, Dela Virgen 0.
AU (61)—Salado 15, Holts 11, Enriquez 10, Cadavis 8, Bangga 5, Gumaru 5, Jalalon 4, Nicholls 3, Meca 0, Ongolo-Ongolo 0, Ortega 0, De Guzman 0, Zamora 0, Tano 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19; 40-28; 66-41; 78-61
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