THE San Sebastian Golden Stags shook off an early bout with boredom before running the hapless Arellano University Chiefs off the court with a 97-70 win on Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan to remain undefeated at 11-0 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
For Stags head coach Topex Robinson, the challenges were keeping his team focused on their current unbeaten run, trying to find ways to curb the Stags’ boredom, and preparing for the Chiefs who he thought would be more dangerous as they were without head coach Leo Isaac.
Against the erstwhile Chiefs (3-7 won-lost) who were led by Junjie Ablan with Isaac in the United States on a scouting mission, the Stags looked disinterested at the start of the game.
With Arellano rookie Michael Doligon scoring on daring drives and Calvin Abueva committing one turnover after another, Robinson sent in six-foot-six rookie center Michael Miranda to break the monotony.
Miranda pulled down a couple of defensive boards and his intensity inside had the Stags off and running.
It was 42-23 at the half, with eight of the Stags’ points coming from jump shots and six from the free throw line. Robinson’s boys pounded the Chiefs into submission on a variety of lay-ups, tip-ins, put backs, spin moves, the whole arsenal—they scored 25 fast-break and 15 turnover points.
And the Stags’ bench, which had looked shaky and unreliable early in the tournament, was more confident in its ability to contribute following the win over San Beda to close out the first round.
“How can you not notice a Miranda, a [Dexter] Maiquez, and a [Jovit] de la Cruz? These games are not just about our big three of Calvin Abueva, Ronald Pascual and Ian Sangalang. It’s an honor for them [the bench] to step up,” glowed Robinson on his reserves chipping in 38 big points.
The Stags posted their largest lead of 33 points after Abueva hit two free throws after a foul by Arellano’s Vergel Zulueta. They shot 51 percent from the field, won the battle of the boards with a whopping 48-29 difference and issued 22 assists to the 15 of Arellano.
Despite his four turnovers to start the game, Abueva tallied 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
Sangalang led the Stags with 24 points while Pascual and point guard Anthony del Rio chipped in 17 and 10 points, respectively.
The Chiefs, who fell to 3-8, were led by Andrian Celada and Zulueta, who each had 13 points. Jerald Lapuz, recently drafted by Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup champion Petron, finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Stags return to action on September 7 against struggling Jose Rizal University, while Arellano, with a mathematical yet slim chance of making the semifinals, goes up against the College of Saint Benilde, another team with playoff aspirations of their own, on September 5. Meanwhile, Letran strengthened its grip on second spot following a 79-67 demolition of Jose Rizal University, even as San Sebastian topped Arellano 75-67 in the juniors division.
Five cagers had double-digit scores for the Squires, led by Aldrin Serafica who scored a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds and Mcjour Luib with 16 points and nine boards.
The Staglets, meanwhile, were led by Michael Calisaan, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
The Squires improved their record to 9-2 for solo second place while the Light Bombers slipped to 3-8 near the bottom of the ladder The Baby Chiefs slid to 4-8.
