Greenies edge Tiger Cubs

MANILA, Philippines - La Salle Greenhills survived the late rally of University of Santo Tomas and scored an 89-82 win in the third Freego Filipino-Chinese Basketball League (FCBL) Cup over the weekend at the Philippine Buddhacare Gym in Quezon City.

The Greenies posted a big lead midway in the fourth before the Tiger Cubs closed in at 82-85 but Michael Pate hit four clutch free throws to seal their first win in the annual high school cagefest also supported by Smart Communications.

Pate led LSGH with 21 points but it was the all-around effort of Alison Carlo that allowed the Greenies to take control of the game.

 Carlos finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks to earn the Freego Best Player of the Game award. Thomas Torres had 16 while Jon Villa chipped in 14 for LSGH, which bounced back from a sorry 69-71 loss to Ateneo.

EJ Corre and JP Sarcia combined for 50 points for UST, which absorbed its second straight loss in the tournament also supported by Mighty Sports, Energen, Colt Commercial, Star Galaxy Industrial Fabricator Inc., Powerbest Marketing Inc., Mandarin Sky Seafood and Shabu-Shabu Restaurant, Multimotors Auto Part Inc. and Apple Tape.

In other games, Jose Rizal University rallied from 20 points down to beat Far Easter University, 94-89, to grab the top spot in Group B with a 2-0 slate.

Richard Lontoc led six Light Bombers in double figures with 24 points. Austian Fabian had a game-high 25 points for the Baby Tams, who dropped to 1-1.

Xavier School, meanwhile, leaned on the 50-point explosion of Jeron Teng to nail its first victory over Adamson, 108-97.

Teng’s output was the highest since the tournament started three years ago. Irvin Mendoza had 28 to pace the Baby Falcons, who remained winless in two starts.