San Beda, Benilde

remain undefeated
By Adrian Stewart Co

San Beda University maintained their undefeated record in the ongoing 95th NCAA senior men’s basketball season following their 73-59 win yesterday over San Sebastian College-Recoletos (SSC-R) at the San Juan Arena.
A hotly-contested game until midway into the fourth quarter, San Beda leaned on timely shots from Ilonggo small forward Clint Doliguez and Calvin Oftana to build a 12-point advantage. Despite SSC-R later coming close, Oftana and Evan Nelle drained three straight triples for San Beda, resulting in their widest lead of 73-57.
Nelle, Donald Tankoua, and James Kwekuteye top-scored with 14 markers apiece; while Oftana fell short of triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Meanwhile, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde also remained unbeaten following their 71-67 win over Mapúa University last Thursday at the Mapua Gym in Intramuros, Manila.
Justin Gutang tallied 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists for Benilde before exiting late in the game due to an injury; while Clement Leutcheu and Jimboy Pasturan each added 11 markers.
After a back-and-forth throughout the game, Benilde surged to a 69-62 edge on a triple by Ilonggo player Edward Dixon; however, Mapúa countered with a run to get to within 69-67 with 3.2 seconds left. In response, with Gutang going down with a knee injury after being fouled by Noah Lugo, Dixon’s free throws put Benilde up 71-67 score with 1.3 seconds remaining.
“I like the way we [played] in terms of our grit and grind throughout the game,” said Benilde head coach Tyrone Tang. “It’s a hostile environment out here.”/ASC, WDJ