Red Lions stun Tams, bag crown

San Beda proved steadier down the stretch to hold off Far Eastern U, 90-88, and capture the first Philippine Olympic Festival basketball crown yesterday at the Tinga Stadium in Taguig City yesterday.

Alex Angeles fired 14 points, including the marginal basket that capped the Red Lions’ stunning victory over the Tams, who swept the elims and came into the finals heavily favored to win the crown.

Yousif Aljamal scored 20 points while three others churned out double-digit scores for the Red Lions, who used a big scoring spurt in the first quarter to seize control then thwarted the Tams’ repeated rallies down the stretch to post the stunning victory.

Nigerian Samuel Ekwe came through with 17 points, while John Paul Escobal and Riego Gamalinda tossed in 12 and 10, respectively, for the Mendiola-based cagers, who sat on a 41-32 cushion at the turn before battling the fancied Tams in a see-saw contest the rest of the way.

Earlier, Philippine Christial U overcame a sluggish start and fought back from deficits of as many as 16 to turn back National U, 73-69, and capture the bronze medal in the tournament backed by Globe, Fontana Leisure Park, Petron, AMA Computer Univ. and Creativity Lounge.

Jason Castro fired 24 points while Gabby Espinas tossed in nine points for the Dolphins, who trailed the Bulldogs, 8-24, in the first quarter but worked their way in the next two periods to surge ahead.