WRITTEN off before the start of the season, San Sebastian pulled off a stunning 72-59 reversal of Jose Rizal University in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at thr Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The Stags, who lost two in a row prior to this one, gave their new coach John Kallos his biggest NCAA win to improve to 2-3 while ending the Bombers’ three-game winning streak.

JRU dropped to third place 4-2.

Later, College of Saint Benilde secured a hard-fought 86-80 victory against University of Perpetual Help System Dalta for its first winning streak of the season.

The win propelled the Blazers to a 3-3 record, placing them fifth in the standings.

San Sebastian turned things around in the third quarter, breaking a 31-31 halftime standoff as Jessie Sumoda imposed his will in the paint before team captain Alex Desoyo and Raymart Escobido presided a 9-3 closing run to take a 55-46 advantage.

But the Bombers mounted a fightback in the payoff period with Shawn Argente burying a triple from a Jonathan Medina assists to trim down the deficit to 57-62 with 4:19 remaining.

The Stags, though, countered with a quick 6-0 run led by Sumoda and Calahat to bring back the lead to double digits at 68-57 cushion with 3:13 left.

Sumoda led the way for San Sebastian with with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, Escobido and Desoyo each scored 12 points, while Calahat finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

Agem Miranda, JRU’s leading scorer, logged 15 points to go along with eight boards, two assists and two steals as rookie Shawn Argente was limited to 2-of-19 shooting for seven points.

The scores:

First game

SSC-R (72) – Sumoda 15, Escobido 12, Desoyo 12, Calahat 11, Are 9, Una 6, Shanoda 4, Felebrico 2, Ra. Gabat 1, De Leon 0, Re. Gabat 0, Aguilar 0.
JRU (59) – Miranda 15, Guiab 9, Argente 7, Mosqueda 7, Arenal 6, Pabico 4, Sarmiento 4, Dionisio 2, Delos Santos 1, De Leon 1, Medina 0, Barrera 0, Sy 0.
Quarterscores: 9-18, 31-31, 55-46, 72-59

Second game

Benilde (86) – Nayve 20, Oczon 19, Carlos 13, Cajucom 12, Corteza 6, Gozum 6, Turco 4, Sangco 3, Arciaga 2, Marcos 1, Jarque 0, Marasigan 0, Mara 0.
Perpetual (80) – Roque 24, Pagaran 16, Nitura 15, Omega 12, Abis 8, Barcuma 2, Ferreras 2, Razon 1, Cuevas 0, Boral 0, Gelsano 0, Nunez 0, Orgo 0.
Quarterscores: 19-18; 39-35; 68-54; 86-80.