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| Zags Gonzaga curls in mid-air for the deuce. |
Speeding Bullets:
- The Staglets showed real strength in blowing the lowly Brigadiers out of their Juniors game. The Baste boys were extremely dominant, shooting 51% from the floor while limiting EAC to just 25%. The Staglets also outrebounded the Brigadiers, 63-20, and played better team ball with 20 assists to EAC’s 10.
- In contrast, the Stallions from Xavier had a tough time disposing of the Tiger Cubs. Kyles Lao played just 12 minutes in this game, scoring 12 markers on 4-of-6 shooting, but he had 0 rebounds and 0 assists. With the absence of Jarrell Lim and Isaac Go, Xavier, once again, had to lean on Juan Susmerano and Anton Lapez to bail themselves out. The Cubs gave a good account of themselves here as Prince Martin showed the way anew. Alvin Ungria also played well, netting a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.
- The Eagles had a strong start against the Cardinals, but, again, had to ward off yet another
comeback from their foes en route to their 6th win in 7 games. Nico Salva finally broke out with 27 markers on 9-of-12 FG shooting and making all but 2 of his 10 freebies. Greg Slaughter won his battle in the paint against Mapua’s returning big man, Yousef Taha. Slaughter tallied 16 points and 10 caroms, while Taha struggled with just 7 points on 3-of-12 shooting. The Fil-Palestinian, however, did grab 11 rebounds. Josan Nimes and Gab Banal led the Mapua effort with a combined 39 points, while Ateneo’s starting backcourt of Kiefer Ravena and Juami Tiongson produced a combined 20 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals.- In a low-scoring affair, the Pirates used a superb finishing kick to get their first win, this time against the EAC Generals. Cris Cayabyab, Floricel Guevarra, and Shane Ko uncorked a combined 41 points to lead Lyceum, who also prevented any EAC player from double-digit scoring. Noube Happi led the Generals with just 9 points on 3-of-11 shooting to go along with his game-high 15 rebounds. The game was marred by anemic shooting, as both teams combined for a lowly 31% shooting percentage from the floor.
- The last Seniors game of the day featured the San Sebastian Golden Stags, who are tagged as strong contenders to dethrone the SBC Red Lions this season. Quite unexpectedly though, they were hijacked by a determined JRU quintet. Nate Matute nailed 4 threes to typify the Heavy Bombers’ resolve. He finished with 15 markers while backcourt mate Alex Almario also stepped up by scoring 22 points, thanks mainly to his almost flawless 13-of-14 shooting from the stripe. Ian Sangalang had a nice double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds) to lead Baste, while Calvin Abueva scored 16 markers and collared 7 boards of his own. The Stags, however, fell behind in the first half and never really recovered. JRU’s defense was the key here, forcing SSC to commit 18 turnovers.
- The last Seniors game of the day featured the San Sebastian Golden Stags, who are tagged as strong contenders to dethrone the SBC Red Lions this season. Quite unexpectedly though, they were hijacked by a determined JRU quintet. Nate Matute nailed 4 threes to typify the Heavy Bombers’ resolve. He finished with 15 markers while backcourt mate Alex Almario also stepped up by scoring 22 points, thanks mainly to his almost flawless 13-of-14 shooting from the stripe. Ian Sangalang had a nice double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds) to lead Baste, while Calvin Abueva scored 16 markers and collared 7 boards of his own. The Stags, however, fell behind in the first half and never really recovered. JRU’s defense was the key here, forcing SSC to commit 18 turnovers.
Scores & Images:
Juniors:
SSC Staglets over EAC Brigadiers, 87-40
San Sebastian 87 – Calisaan 17, Escalambre 12, Loor 9, Macasaet 8, Gatdula 8, Yong 8, Velasco 5, Causon 4, Magno 4, Gayosa 3, Santos 3, Costelo 2, Navarro 2, Dumadag 2, Miasco 0, Bautista 0
EAC 40 – Magtaas 11, Urbina 8, Tiano 7, Crisostomo 4, Fandialan 4, Stevens 3, Cabral 3, Redido 0, Piopongco J 0, Piopongco A 0, Bacarisa 0, Perez 0
QS: 15-11, 41-23, 58-30, 87-40
Notable Performances:
Michael Calisaan (SSC) – 17pts, 12rebs, 2asts
Randy Magtaas (EAC) – 11pts, 4rebs, 4asts, 2stls
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| Ramon Fandialan tries to spin back to middle against the SSC Staglets. |
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| John Macasaet was a solid presence in the middle as the Staglets beat the Brigadiers. |
XS Golden Stallions over UST Tiger Cubs, 63-62
Xavier 63 – Lao 12, Susmerano 11, Lapez 11, Tio 6, Go G 6, Dy 6, Ejercito 4, Cu 4, Fernando 2, Felbaum 1, Puyat 0
UST 62 – Martin 20, Ungria 12, Baetiong 9, Corre 6, Bahia 5, Soriano 5, Laman 3, Abuyen 2, Mayor 0, Berdijo 0, Lavarias 0, Borje 0, Ramirez 0
QS: 19-12, 34-26, 42-43, 63-62
Notable Performances:
Juan Susmerano (XS) – 11pts, 5rebs, 2asts, 2stl
Alvin Ungria (UST) – 12pts, 10rebs, 1ast, 1blk
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| Alvin Ungria and Neil Dy collide in the air as Xavier escaped UST. |
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| Xavier's Juan Susmerano goes full steam against the defense of UST's Prince Martin. |
Seniors:
AdMU Blue Eagles over MIT Cardinals, 78-75
Ateneo 78 – Salva 27, Slaughter 16, Ravena 12, Tiongson 8, Buenafe 5, Gonzaga 4, Elorde 4, Erram 2, Golla 0, Chua 0, Sumalinog 0, Pessumal 0
Mapua 75 – Nimes 24, Banal G 15, Ighalo 8, Parala 7, Taha 7, Brana 4, Estrella 3, Chien 3, Banal J 2, Stevens 2, Saitanan 0, Abad 0
QS: 21-13, 32-32, 56-45, 78-75
Notable Performances:
Nico Salva (AdMU) – 27pts, 6rebs, 2asts, 1stl
Yousef Taha (MIT) – 7pts, 11rebs, 4asts, 2blks
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| Yousef Taha finally sees action in the 2012 Filoil Preseason Hanes Cup! |
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| Ryan Buenafe continues to struggle with his scoring, making just 5 points against Mapua. |
LPU Pirates over EAC Generals, 59-47
Lyceum 59 – Cayabyab 18, Guevarra 13, Ko 10, Laude 7, Zamora 6, Ambohot 2, Edding 2, Azores 1, Mendoza 0, Garcia 0, Mallari 0
EAC 47 – Happi 9, Yaya 9, Monteclaro 7, Sanchez 5, Morada 5, Jamon 4, Munsayac 4, Chiong 2, Acebron 2, King 0, Mallari 0, Duran 0, Pillas 0
QS: 8-10, 22-19, 37-37, 59-47
Notable Performances:
Cris Cayabyab (LPU) - 18pts, 8rebs, 2asts
Noube Happi (EAC) – 9pts, 15rebs, 3asts, 2stls
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| Shane Ko's 10 points helped the Pirates down the Generals. |
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| Noube Happi was a rebound demon, but he was lousy in terms shooting. |
JRU Heavy Bombers over SSC Golden Stags, 79-65
Jose Rizal 79 – Almario 22, Matute 15, Lopez 7, Dela Paz 7, Mabulac 6, Camasura 6, Monserat 6, Paniamogan 3, Villarias 2, Carampil 2, Maconocido 2, Salaveria 1, Munez 0
San Sebastian 65 – Sangalang 18, Abueva 16, Juico 11, Miranda 6, Maiquez 4, Antipuesto 3, Dela Cruz 2, Vitug 2, Balucanag 2, Rebollos 1, Vinuya 0, Gusi 0, Gatchalian 0
QS: 25-17, 43-31, 54-45, 79-65
Notable Performances:
Alex Almario (JRU) – 22pts, 3rebs, 1stl
Ian Sangalang (SSC) – 18pts, 10rebs, 4blks, 1ast, 1stl
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| Alex Almario was extremely steady from the free throw line. |
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| Calvin Abueva and the Stags struggled with their shots against JRU's defense. |
*All images are by Carl Sta. Ana/Filoil Flying V Sports.
10 Comment
Xavier's Lao played just the last 8 or 9 minutes of the game. He came in with an injured ankle which prevented him from playing heavy minutes.
BalasWow. Why did Kyles enter the game in the fourth only? He came from somewhere else, or was he really being rested?
BalasXavier's coaching staff was a bit wary of giving him playing time as the ankle has not fully healed. They didn't want to risk aggravating the injury which was still very swollen at that point. The other boys stepped up their game and it sure feels great to win a close one.
BalasYeah lot of other guys surely stepped up! That Susmerano kid looks quite impressive!
BalasKyles's injury also prevented him from playing against Adamson last Friday. Kyles's absence, along with Isaac & Jarrell, really hurt our chances in that one, although we were able to stay with Adamson until middle of the 4th quarter.
BalasFYI, Isaac is playing in Thailand as some sort of import for an International School (IS) team, while Jarrell left with his family on a European vacation. I dare say that with a complete line-up, we would have won the last 2 games and easily qualified for the next round.
Pretty impressive as Juan Susmerano is the energy guy of the stallions squad.
BalasXavier is also missing the services of one of its big men, a Korean named Changgi Hong, who has opted to concentrate on his studies. He's an incoming junior, so I hope he reconsiders and rejoins the team for his senior year.
Balasin other news, whats happening to the ADMU blue eagles? they have been playing sub par this FILOIL tournament. If the continue to play like this, they wont be able to get the UAAP crown this year.
BalasWow, great insights/reports on the Xavier Stallions! Hopefully, we get to see their big Korean center soon! As for Ateneo's below-expectations performances, I think the Eagles are still adjusting to the new/returning players. I hope they'll gel even more as the season nears, so that they can really meet their potential! I also think their opponents play a helluva lot better when up against Ateneo! haha
BalasAteneo historically doesn't play well in the off-season. If I recall correctly, it was only last year that Ateneo won Fil-Oil. I wouldn't be too concerned. I'd like to see them after their annual US training trip before making any conclusions. The backcourt seems to be a major concern, though. Tiongson & Elorde haven't been able to match so far the performance of Long & Monfort. I hope they find their rhythm/mojo once UAAP season starts.
Balas