Lawrence Mangubat was in the forefront anew as he steered Mapua University to an 89-73 thrashing of La Salle Green Hills for their second consecutive win in the NCAA Season 99 juniors basketball tournament on Friday at the FIloil EcoOil Centre.
Mangubat, who churned out 20 points in their 82-78 win against Arellano last Saturday, dropped 18 points on top of six rebounds, three assists, and two steals as the Red Robins improved to 2-0, joining San Sebastian College-Recoletos and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA as the lone spotless squads.
The Greenies, one of the two finalists last season, sank to a 0-2 start.
Sean Salvador chipped in 14 points while Nico Mulingtapang was just two assists shy of a double-double after tallying 10 markers, eight dimes, and four boards.
Meanwhile, Arellano University finally barged into the win column after outplaying Jose Rizal University, 94-86, to bounce back from a previous loss to Mapua last Saturday.
Paul Reguera put together 19 points alongside three rebounds, two assists, and one steal while Carl Yu chimed in with 13 markers, five dimes, and two boards as the Braves improved to 1-1.
Last season's Defensive Player of the Year Paul Enal, meanwhile, paced the Light Bombers with a huge double-double of 22 points and 18 rebounds alongside three assists and two blocksm but his efforts were not enough as they fell to 0-2 slate.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
