Lions roar on, Archers off target in Filoil Cup

MANILA, Philippines - NCAA champ San Beda roared to an 80-56 win over Lyceum but UAAP counterpart La Salle fell to an ambush from Jose Rizal, 68-69,  as the collegiate giants suffered contrasting fates in yesterday’s FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena.

The Red Lions threw their weight around the Pirates and led by as many as 27 points at 74-47 to cruise to their fourth straight win.

Art Dela Cruz led the roar with 17 points and eight rebounds while Ola Adeogun turned in a double-double output of 16 points and 11 boards and Anthony Semerad added 11, nine from the fourth period.

“We’re happy we got past Lyceum because I believe they are one of the strongest teams in NCAA, having a very good coach and players,” said San Beda mentor Boyet Fernandez. “We really have to make a statement right now but we still have something to prove ourselves.”

The Green Archers failed to dodge the upset axe and bowed to the JRU Bombers, who benefited from Jaycee Asuncion’s pull-up jumper and Phillip Mabulac’s inside stab in the last minute to secure the upset.

The Bombers took control and enjoyed a 44-26 margin at the break. They lost the lead on a furious rally by La Salle but recovered in the end, foiling Jason Perkins’ potential game-winning attempt.

“We had a good start and we’re up by a big  margin. They were able to come back mainly because we made mistakes,” said JRU coach Vergel Meneses.

“La Salle was up by four in the fourth but ‘yung composure ng mga players (the composure of my players) were there and that’s a good sign of character.”

Phillip Paniamogan led the Bombers with 16 markers while Teodoro and Gio Lasquety contributed 12 and 10, respectively.

“They (DLSU) are the number one team in the UAAP, a champion team, but whatever happens, win or lose, ang importante may matutunan ang mga bata (the most important thing is to learn from this game),” Meneses said.

In the other game, CJ Perez  rifled in 24 points while Jovit Dela Cruz and Ryan Costelo shot 16 and 14, respectively, as San Sebastian outlasted Holy Trinity College, 91-84.

Adeogun blew his top late in the game, feeling he was subjected to racist remarks from the Pirates, and was slapped a technical foul in the 2:14 mark.

“‘Di mo rin masisi ‘yung tao kasi they’re trash talking him and sometimes it’s below the belt sometimes medyo masama na rin racial discrimination nasasaktan din ‘yung tao siyempre (You can’t blame Ola because they’re subjecting him to below the belt thrash talk and racial discrimination),” Fernandez said.

He asked for respect for his foreign player.

“I hope that Filipino players will not be racist because Ola just came here to study and probably when he go back to his country he will just be a regular and earn for his family,” he said.

“Sana naman bigyan niyo ng konting respeto ‘yung tao (Hope we all respect him), Ola respects the Philippines a lot especially the Filipino people. Laro lang (It’s just a game), if it’s a physical game, it’s a physical game no question about it pero kung degrading na, it was Ola who told me na iba na ‘yung sinabi sa kanya, sana naman ma-stop na kasi masakit din e (he told me about the degrading things they said to him),” he added. – Lance Adrian Agcaoili