San Beda escapes UC

San Beda bucked the 24-point, 24-rebound performance of University of Cebu’s behemoth June Mar Fajardo in hacking out an 82-69 win over the Webmasters to finish third.

Rome dela Rosa fired 21 points, including 10 in the fourth that helped the Lions douse cold water on the Webmasters’ comeback bid, along with seven rebounds, as the reigning NCAA champs ended their campaign on a high note.

Mar Villahermosa added 14 markers and five assists to fill in for injured starter Garvo Lanete (shoulder injury), one of key SBC players missing along with Jake Pascual (bum stomach) and the Semerad twins, Anthony and DJ, who left the team after their NCAA triumph.

Dave Marcelo and Kyle Pascual took turns trying who hound the 6-9 Fajardo, who still made 10 of his 17 attempts and grabbed nearly half of UC’s 52-rebound output in 38 minutes of action.

Brian Heruela chipped in 20 markers, including 10 in the payoff period where UC clawed back to within six (65-71) from a high of 11. He also had nine boards and four assists.

For placing third place, San Beda got P100,000 for the school and another P100,000 for members of the Red Lions team. UC netted P50,000 for the school and an extra P50,000 for the squad.