St. Clare, Fatima prevail
DEFENDING champion St. Clare College of Caloocan and Our Lady of Fatima University closed out their elimination round campaign on a winning note by defeating their respective rivals in the National Athletic Association of Schools Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) Season 21 at the Central Recreation and Fitness Center in Quezon City.
St. Clare capitalized on a strong start to subdue University of Makati, 74-58, while Fatima played just hard enough to beat Manuel L. Quezon University, 80-69.
Both the Saints and Phoenix finished with identical 8-1 win-loss records.
Megan Galang fired 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting as he led a balanced attack by the Saints, who are gunning for another title under NAASCU president Dr. Jay Adalem and coach Jino Manansala
Luiz Tapenio, Drick Acosta, and Ryan Sual contributed nine points each, while Eugene Cabauata, Charles Burgos, and Aeron Decano added eight points apiece.
Ahron Estacio, who had an impressive 26-point performance against Fatimalast Nov 15, chipped in six points.
Kenz Diokno led UMak’s losing effort with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting on top of six assists for coach Vis Valencia.
Mamadou Toure, Rodman Templonuevo and Charles Tecson took charge for the Ralph Rivera-mentored Phoenix.
Toure finished with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, along with eight rebounds and two blocks in nearly 20 minutes of play, while Templonuevo contributed 13 points and six rebounds. Tecson had 10 points and four rebounds.
Jose Adrian Antonio was the lone double-digit scorer for MLQU with 33 points on 10-of-20 shooting in 35 minutes of action.
In an earlier match, Enderun Colleges dominated AMA University, 100-50, for Joshiel Gastador had 18 points, two rebounds, and two assists, Hans Delos Reyes had16 points and nine rebounds, Jalen Garcia had 11 points and Christian Malano had 10 for Enderun.
JC Yambao and Earl Ceniza led AMA’ with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
