MARINERONG Pilipino-San Beda University nearly paid a dear price for a sluggish start against AMA Online yesterday.
The Red Lions got their acts together in time and bludgeoned the Titans 119-70 for their fourth straight win and gained a quarterfinals berth in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup at The Arena in San Juan.
James Payosing wound up with 17 points, five rebounds and two steals for San Beda, while Gavril Tagala and Damie Cuntapay chipped in 13 markers each.
Clifford Jopia, Jacob Cortez, Emmanuel Tagle, Alex Teruel II, and Yukien Andrada also had 12, 10, 10, 10, and 10 points, respectively, as the Lions scored a fitting follow up to a 66-64 decision over Perpetual Help eight days ago and rose to 4-1.
AMA Online remained winless in fourth games, counting a 70-108 shellacking at the hands of Philippine Sports Performance last Thursday.
San Beda coach Yuri Escueta said his charges looked past their foes early on.
“We started the game on the wrong foot. More than the Xs and Os, it’s the attitude that we brought in the first half, so we have to play with a better attitude,” Escueta said. “We have to respect our opponents and the game. Iyon ang naging mindset namin sa second half.
“Finishing in the top two would be nice but as much as possible, we want to take it one game at a time. We want to improve every game,” he added.
