MANILA, Philippines — San Beda University survived Mapua University’s Cyrus Cueno fiery three-point shooting in the fourth quarter to extend its winning streak to three with a 61-57 victory in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament on Thursday afternoon at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Red Lions held an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter, 50-39, when Cueno, who sank three consecutive triples, led a rally to pull Mapua within one, 51-50, with 4:12 remaining.
Daniel Marcelo stopped the bleeding for San Beda after scoring a layup, followed by Dominic Sarigumba completing his free throws to build a 55-50 cushion with 3:39 seconds left.
The three-point party was not yet over for the Cardinals as Jamal Diaz connected from beyond the arc to cut San Beda's lead down to two, 55-53.
With both teams already in penalty, the game all boiled down on who’s more composed at the end of the stretch with Marcelo making both of his charities count, while Cuenco scored one out of two from the free throw line with under two minutes remaining.
The Red Lions maximized their trips from the foul line to secure the win.
“As you can see, I was so mad at the sidelines, and I told the team to focus on the things that we control. We were able to get crucial rebounds, and crucial stops at the end,” San Beda head coach Yuri Escueta said.
“Also with Cuenco, we are prepared for that, and I can say that he is the new Mr. 4th Quarter in the NCAA, and in their previous games, Cuenco really scored 20 points and above; that’s where their offense comes from,” he added.
Marcelo finished with 16 points while John Bonzalida added 10 points for San Beda.
Mapua was led by Cuenco who scored 23 points while Yam Concepcion finished with a double -double of 12 points and 12 rebounds that all went down the drain.
San Beda improved its chances to earn a twice-to-beat quarterfinals advantage with an 8-3 card, tied with Jose Rizal University.
Mapua dropped to 6-5.
