Lions crush Chiefs, enhance quarterfinal bid

MANILA, Philippines - San Beda trounced Arellano, 74-66, to post its fourth straight win and boost its quarterfinal bid in the Filoil Flying V First Five Invitational Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan yesterday.

The Lions led from start to finish and posted double-digit leads almost the entire game, the biggest at 68-51 with 6:19 left in the contest.

A Kyle Pascual drive gave San Beda a 72-53 lead in the fourth quarter but the Chiefs countered to cut the lead to 11, 61-72. However, Borgie Hermida completed on a three-point play to seal the victory for the Lions.

Earlier, Letran bounced back from a loss by forfeiture to San Beda with a 73-64 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College to close out its campaign in the tournament presented by Mighty Bond Extreme, with major sponsors Total Phils. Corp., San Marino Corned Tuna, Accel, Filoil Gas Company, Flying V and Hanesbrands, the official outfitter.

The Generals dropped to 0-6 with one game left.

Meanwhile, Jose Rizal U proved steadier down the stretch as it outlasted the National U, 70-59, in overtime in junior play.

The Light Bombers and the Bullpups battled through 12 deadlocks in the game that was close throughout, the last at 55 with 9.1 seconds left in regulation.

But the Mandaluyong-based squad outplayed the Bullpups in the extra period, scoring four consecutive baskets to post a 66-57 lead with 58 seconds left in the contest.

Jordan Dela Paz dished out a double-double game of 20 points and 10 rebounds while three others churned out double-digit outputs for the Light Bombers, who evened their card at 2-2 in Group A.   – With reports from Koji Echeminada and Kristina Villanueva