San Sebastian weathers Mapua in OT thriller to complete Final Four cast

Published March 1, 2024 5:29pm

Updated March 1, 2024 8:33pm

San Sebastian College-Recoletos had to hold off a strong Mapua University rally to pull off a 90-84 overtime victory in the NCAA Season 99 juniors basketball tournament on Friday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

With the gutsy win, the Staglets completed the Final Four cast alongside top seed University of Perpetual Help System DALTA (7-1), as well as Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Mapua, who both feature identical 6-2 win-loss cards with them. 

The Red Robins unleashed a wild 13-2 run led by Aki Valiña, Sean Salvador, and Lawrence Mangubat as they erased a double digit deficit within only a minute and 56 seconds to force overtime. 

Both squads then got cold on offense in the extra period with John Melano sinking a couple of free throws to give San Sebastian an 87-83 cushion before Salvador split his charities to make it an 87-84 affair. Mapua was unable to complete a single field goal in the overtime. 

Rion Porcadas then completed two free throws to send San Sebastian to an 89-84 cushion with 20.4 seconds left before Ruvic Danag split from the line to seal the deal. 

Kit Bonus paced San Sebastian with 28 points alongside four rebounds, one assist, and two steals while Porcadas finished with 16 markers, six boards, and three dimes. 

Meanwhile, Emilio Aguinaldo College leaned once again on the hot hands of EJ Castillo to hack out a 92-87 win against Arellano University. 

The 17-year-old guard posted another big game as he churned out 30 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals while Alfred Asay chipped in 18 markers, 11 boards, and one dime as the Brigadiers improved to 3-5. 

The Braves, on the other hand, dropped to 1-7 despite huge efforts from Borgy Reguera, who collected 25 points, four rebounds, and four steals.

College of Saint Benilde-La Salle Green Hills capped the day with a win against Lyceum of the Philippines University, 85-84, as Dale Ortega delivered the game-winner from halfcourt.

James Ison had 25 points, while Guillian Quines had 15 points as Benilde-LSGH improved to 3-5. LPU, on the other hand, moved down to 1-7.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News