THE defending champion San Beda Red Cubs, the Mapua/Malaya Red Robins and Arellano University smashed their foes and took the early lead at the start of the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association junior basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan on Monday.
Joshua Tagala showed the way with 19 points, six rebounds and seven steals, while Ivan Nelle added 17 points and eight assists and newcomer Carlo Obenza eked out 16 for the Red Cubs Red Cubs, who went on to crush the Letran Squires, 107-74.
The Red Robins, playing without injured skipped Michael Enriquez, banked on the efforts of Romuel Junsay and four others in turning back the Jose Rizal University Light Bombers, 86-64.
In the third game, last season’s runner-up Arellano, behind Lars Sunga’s 18 points and seven rebounds, overwhelmed Perpetual Help, 105-88.
The Red Cubs started moving out of range following two free throws from Nelle and a steal and drive from Robin Nayve. Their efforts in the last minute of the second period allowed San Beda to grab a 53-44 halftime spread.
The Cubs’ full-court press in the third period, coupled with an 11-0 spurt fueled by Obenza’s 10 points put SBC ahead by 74-45, with 4:12 left.
“Hindi namin sila kilala. Kaya, nag-adjust kami nu’ng third quarter. Nu’ng nasunod ang game plan, kahit sino, puwede ng gumawa,” said Red Cubs’ coach JB Sison.
On the other hand, Mapua took a 22-11 spread in the first 10 minutes.
Red Robins’ coach Randy Alcantara said they felt the absence of Season 91 MVP Enriquez, who will be back in six weeks after sustaining a sprained ankle during a tuneup game.
Meanwhile, the San Beda Red Lions will try to fix kinks in their offensive armor when they confront the Lyceum Pirates at 2 p.m. today in the men’s basketball side at The Arena in San Juan.
The Red Lions hurdled defending champion Letran, 89-85, in the opener last Saturday, but not without some anxious moments.
This time, coach Jamike Jarin is confident that they will be able to resolve their lapses when they meet the Pirates.
“We need to learn from that. We need to clean it up,” said Jarin.
Co-leaders Mapua and Emilio Aguinaldo will try to keep up with the Red Lions.
The Mapua Cardinals, coming out of a 74-71 win over Jose Rizal University, battles College of St. Benilde at 4 p.m., while the EAC Generals seek a followup of their 64-57 beating of Lyceum with a second win against a difficult Letran Knight at 12noon.