San Beda University flaunted the depth of its bench in routing Arellano University, 82-68, to remain undefeated in the NCAA Season 97 men's basketball tournament on Sunday at the La Salle Green Hills Gym.
James Kwekuteye led the Red Lions in scoring with 14 points while Gab Cometa added 11 — all coming in the first half.
Five other San Beda players contributed eight or more points in a show of strength for their bench, who outscored their Arellano counterparts, 41-24.
The win gave San Beda a clean 5-0 slate while Arellano dropped to 2-4.
After a seesaw affair in the first quarter, the Red Lions started building momentum in the latter part of the frame with Cometa providing a spark off the bench with a personal 4-0 run to end the period, 17-15.
San Beda then started pulling away in the second canto, all thanks to their second group led by spark plugs in Cometa, Justine Sanchez, Tony Ynot, and JV Gallego.
The troika of Ynot, Cometa, and Gallego helped San Beda establish a 32-19 cushion before Sanchez drilled eight points, highlighted by two triples, as they ended the halftime enjoying a 15-point spread, 47-32.
Arellano was also dealt a huge blow after Justin Arana missed the second quarter after incurring three early fouls in the first.
San Beda lead widened to as much as 22 after a Kwekuteye layup, 63-41, but the Chiefs managed to trim their deficit to just 14 at the conclusion of the frame following a 11-3 barrage, 52-66.
Arellano was able to chop down its disadvantage to just 11, 59-70, but Kwekuteye led San Beda's late rally as they cruised to their fifth consecutive victory.
Ynot and Ralph Penuela both finished with nine points for the Red Lions while Sanchez, JB Bahio, and Rhayyan Amsali had eight.
Arana, the Chiefs main man, finished with just seven points and turned the ball over eight times in a subpar showing, though he did grab 13 rebounds and blocked two shots.
Axel Doromal led Arellano with 16 points while Gelo Sablan added 10.
San Beda will shoot for its sixth win in a row on Wednesday against the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA while Arellano will try to bounce back on Friday against Lyceum of the Philippines University.
The scores:
San Beda 82 - Kwekuteye 14, Cometa 11, Penual 9, Ynot 9, Bahio 8, Amsali 8, Sanchez 8, Cuntapay 6, Alfaro 4, Gallego 3, Viser 2, Villejo 2, Abuda 0, Andrada 0, Jopia 0.
Arellano 68 - Doromal 16, Sablan 10, Velncia 9, Cruz 8, Arana 7, Concepcion 7, Steinl 4, Sta Ana 3, Abastillas 2, Caballero 2, Oliva 0.
Quarterscores: 17-15, 47-32, 66-52, 82-68.
—JMB, GMA News
