From The Wires
Cyril Gonzales felt right at home at Mapua University, dropping a new league scoring record to steer the Cardinals to an 89-75 win against rival San Beda University in the 2024 ANTA Asiabasket International Championship on Friday at the Enderun Colleges, BGC.
The transferee from University of the Philippines tallied an all-time high 37 points, 15 of which he dropped in the second period, while also grabbing four rebounds, two assists, and three steals as Mapua improved to 2-2.
But his record-breaking outing almost went down the drain when the Red Lions were threatening to roar back in the final moments.
Emman Tagle suddenly caught fire from downtown, igniting for a triple followed by another long bomb from Richi Calimag as San Beda trimmed the gap to just 10 after trailing by as much as 18, 82-72.
But another transferee in Cyrus Nitura provided stability down the stretch, sinking two freebies before stealing the leather and completing a basket that sent Mapua to an 86-72 cushion.
And putting the icing on the cake was a contested three-pointer from Gonzales, whose 37-point outing surpassed the previous scoring record set of 36 points by Ron Dennison and Patrick Cabahug in 2021.
Nitura finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists while Ivan Lazarte and Jamir Eligado chipped in 13 markers apiece.
Meanwhile, Adamson University and National University move closer to group stage sweeps after annihilating separate foes earlier in the day.
The Soaring Falcons soared past red-hot Far Eastern University, 79-56, while the Bulldogs pulled off a massive 101-76 decision against National Formosa University of Taiwan as both squads improved to 3-0 in their respective groups.
Jhon Calisay continued to impress, registering 14 points and three rebounds while AJ Fransman chimed in with 11 markers to help Adamson keep its unbeaten slate alive after also dominating Mapua and DKI Jakarta in previous games.
Mohammed Diassana, on the other hand, carried NU against the Taiwanese club after pouring in a huge double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds while Omar John and Gelo Santiago each had 10 markers.
In other game, Phenom Blue Fire finally barge into the win column after upsetting a highly-motivated Lakas California of USA, 77-68, behind the troika of Peter Osang, Ernset Daja, and Matt Jucom.
Osang, who is set to suit up for UST, dropped 16 points and 11 rebounds while Daja showed up with 16 markers as well.
THE SCORES:
FIRST GAME:
Phenom Blue Fire (77) – Osang 16, Daja 16, Jucom 15, Moumbagna 10, Arambulo 7, Mara 6, Gaspay 4, Dimaunahan 3, Manzano 0, Despi 0.
Lakas California (68) – Cervantes 24, Elombi 12, Malinis 12, Pangilinan 5, Gonzalez 5, Llanes 4, Prades 3, Griffin 2, Reyes 1, Dimalanta 0, Zaporteza 0, Stewart 0.
SECOND GAME:
National University (101) – Diassana 16, Santiago 10, John 10, Garcia 10, Placielo 10, Francisco 8, Figueroa 8, Jumamoy 7, Padrones 5, Manansala 5, Yu 5, Enriquez 4, Reyes 3, Lim 0, Perciano 0.
NFU Taiwan (76) – Nchekwube 16, Johnson 14, Wang 9, Ko 7, Liu 7, Tseng 6, Lin 6, Lee 5, Ye 3, Shen 2, Lai 1, Wei 0.
THIRD GAME:
Adamson University (79) – Calisay 14, Fransman 11, Anabo 9, Manzano 8, Competente 8, Ronzone 6, Torres 5, Ronzone 4, Cañete 4, Erolon 3, Barcelona 3, Ignacio 2, Gaye 2, Fuentebella 0.
FEU (56) – Pre 17, Daa 12, Alforque 7, Pasaol 7, Montemayor 5, Felipe 5, Konateh 2, Ona 1, Bagunu 0, Taboctaboc 0, Beato 0, Jones 0.
FOURTH GAME:
Mapua University (89) – Gonzales 37, Nitura 20, Eligado 13, Lazarte 13, Pantaleon 2, Pabilona 2, Valentin 2, Agemenyi 0, Asuncion 0, Reyno 0, Mejia 0, Ryan 0, Mensah 0, Macaranas 0.
San Beda (75) – Tagle 12, Songcuya 11, Payosing 10, Calimag 8, Calimag 8, Alloso 7, Lopez 7, Gonzales 4, Hawksin 3, Estacio 2, Bonzalida 3, Culdora 0, Jamora 0, Jalbuena 0, Torres 0
TEAM STANDINGS (As of July 12, 2024)
GROUP A
National University Bulldogs 3-0
National Formosa University (Taiwan) 2-2
Lakas California 1-2
Benilde Blazers 1-2
Phenom Blue Fire 1-2
GROUP B
Adamson Soaring Falcons 3-0
FEU Tamaraws 2-1
Mapua Cardinals 2-2
San Beda Red Lions 1-2
DKI Jakarta 0-3
Games on Saturday:(July 13, 2024)
(Enderun Colleges, BGC)
1:00 PM – FEU Tamaraws vs DKI Jakarta
3:00 PM – Lakas California vs NU Bulldogs
5:00 PM – Benilde Blazers vs Phenom Blue Fire
7:00 PM – Adamson Soaring Falcons vs San Beda Red Lions
