NCAA

NCAA: Mapua dismantles St. Benilde

April 20, 2022 Theodore P. Jurado 303 views

MAPUA drilled in 12 three-pointers in a 84-65 dismantling of College of Saint Benilde to seize solo third place in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the La Salle Greenhills Gym.

Brian Lacap, making his second straight start after the Cardinals lost two in a row, scored a game-high 22 points on a 8-of-13 shooting to go with four rebounds, four steals and two assists.

“So totoo lang, medyo pressure siya,” said Lacap, who also started in Mapua’s 95-83 victory over University of Perpetual Help System Dalta before the Holy Week break.

“Kapag first time, good start ka para mahawa ang bench,” he added.

The victory, the fifth in seven games, gave the Cardinals hope to secure one of the two outright Final Four berths. Mapua trails joint first placers Letran and San Beda by a full game.

It was the Blazers’ second straight loss as they dropped to fourth place with a 4-3 card, putting this season’s hosts on the brink of relegating to the play-in stage for the remaining two Final Four slots.

Later, Alex Desoyo nailed a huge corner jumper in the final 59 seconds as San Sebastian fashioned out a 70-64 victory over Jose Rizal University.

JM Calma had 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Stags remained in the hunt to make it to the play-in games at 3-4.

In what expected to be a close game has turned into a rout, as the Cardinals drew huge games from Paolo Hernandez and Rence Nocum.

Lacap’s three-pointer at the 5:59 mark of the second period capped Mapua’s 15-0 run to shatter a 19-19 stalemate at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinals’ sustained their hot shooting from beyond the arc, as they dropped 16 triples in their previous win against the Altas.

“Nagpapasalamat ako nag-payoff yung extra shooting sa practice,” said Lacap, who had +32 efficiency rating.

Hernandez added 17 points, seven boards, two steals and two assists while Nocum was the other Mapua player who scored in twin digits with 14 points.

Will Gozum posted his second straight double-double with 13 points while Miggy Corteza and AJ Benson chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, for CSB.

The last-placed Bombers, who earned a breakthrough win over the Blazers last week, put themselves on the brink of elimination at 1-6.

The scores:

First game

Mapua (84) — Lacap 22, Hernandez 17, Nocum 14, Agustin 9, Gamboa 8, Pido 6, Mercado 4, Bonifacio 4, Asuncion 0, Salenga 0, Milan 0, Garcia 0, Soriano 0.
CSB (65) — Gozum 13, Corteza 11, Benson 10, Carlos 8, Nayve 6, Davis 5, Marcos 4, Cullar 4, Lepalam 3, Flores 1, Mosqueda 0, Sangco 0, Publico 0, Lim 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 39-30, 62-47, 84-65

Second game

SSC-R (70) — Calma 26, Calahat 13, Desoyo 10, Villapando 7, Shanoda 6, Abarquez 5, Are 2, Cosari 1, Una 0, Loristo 0, Abat 0, Felebrico 0, Dela Cruz 0.
JRU (64) — Celis 21, Agbong 8, Jungco 7, Delos Santos 6, Dionisio 6, Arenal 4, Bongay 4, Estrella 3, Gonzales G. 3, Macatangay 2, Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 25-19, 36-32, 50-51, 70-64.

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