Stags outgun Knights to keep unbeaten mark in 87th NCAA

THE San Sebastian Stags kept their slate clean after outclassing the Letran Knights, 71-62, in the battle of undefeated squads in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.

The Stags led by as much as 16 points early but suddenly lost their  mojo and allowed the Knights to creep to within five, 42-47, behind crafty guard Kevin Alas. However, much to the dismay of the Knights’ faithful, Alas, their leading scorer, fouled out with 7:05 left in the game.

Smelling blood, the Stags pounced relentlessly on their opponents with Ian Sangalang and Calvin “The Beast” Abueva leading the charge. Abueva scored seven of his 18 points in that stretch, abusing the defense of Letran’s Jam Cortes as the Stags established their double-digit advantage once again en route to the win and a perfect 4-0 record.

Abueva though, shot just 5-of-17 from the field but had 10 rebounds and three assists. Six-foot-6 slotman Ian Sangalang led the way for the Stags with 22 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

Meanwhile, the Lyceum Pirates of historic Intramuros plundered their way to their fourth win in six games beating the Arellano University Chiefs, 84-74.

The Pirates mocked the Chiefs’ zone by scoring heavily from the three-point area, and also found a way to score from the stripes when the going got tough to secure their second back-to-back win and the solo second spot behind three-way leaders San Beda, Letran and San Sebastian.

Chris Cayabyab led the Pirates with 20 points and seven rebounds, Floricel Guevarra had 17 while Gian Mallari added 14./Correspondent Jonas Panerio