Stags defeat Pirates for fifth straight victory

THE SAN Sebastian Stags brought down the Lyceum Pirates back to earth as they thoroughly outplayed the neophytes on their way to marking down an 82-57 win in the 87th NCAA basketball tournament yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.

It was just another day at the office for Calvin Abueva, who registered 28 points and 12 rebounds in yet another dominant showing.

Making the feat even more impressive was the fact that he did his damage in just 26 minutes of action. The win was the Stags’ fifth in a row and it gave them a stranglehold of the lead with a 5-0 (win-loss) mark.

With all the momentum on their side going in, the Stags quickly established their dominance over the Pirates, using their half court execution to perfection to seize a 41-30 advantage at the half after a slow start.

In the second half, the Stags completely outplayed the Pirates, with Abueva firing on all cylinders. After scoring 15 in the first two periods, Abueva pushed the pedal to the metal and even restored order in the fourth period when the Pirates seemed on the cusp of a run.

The other two parts of the “Pinatubo Trio” were just as lethal with Ronald Pascual finishing with 18 points, four rebounds and five assists, and center Ian Sangalang adding 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Stags were also impressive on defense as they held the gunners of head coach Bonnie Tan to subpar performances. The normally sweet-shooting Chris Cayabyab managed just nine markers on 2-of-10 shooting, while Floricel Guevarra had just eight in 20 minutes. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio