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MANILA, Philippines ? Even with American Sudan Daniel recording his worst output of the season, the San Beda Red Lions pulled off a crucial triumph against fierce rival Letran Knights, who similarly struggled with the ejection of coach Louie Alas.
Rookie forward Rome dela Rosa pumped in a personal-best 18 points as the Lions hammered out a 76-64 win yesterday to claim solo second in the NCAA men?s basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
?At least, the other guys stepped up and delivered,? said San Beda coach Frankie Lim. ?I think we solved the pressure defense of Letran and we got into our game.?
The Lions boosted their bid for the twice-to-beat semifinal bonus with a 15-2 record, just half a game behind the league-leading 15-1 card of the idle San Sebastian Stags.
Both the Stags and the Lions, along with the third-running Jose Rizal U Bombers, are in a tight battle for the two Final Four incentives.
Garvo Lanete added 16 markers, while Riego Gamalinda came off the bench with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Lions, who led by as many as 27 points, 59-32, in the third period.
Daniel scored a measly three points, all from the foul line.
The Lions built a 23-14 lead before Alas got ejected due to excessive complaining with 40.9 seconds left in the first quarter.
Letran, already in the Final Four, fell to 12-6.
Alas got his second technical after arguing that game officials should have ejected Lanete instead of just calling an unsportsmanlike foul.
Lanete was slapped with the penalty for a second motion off Letran?s Aloysius Taplah.
Alas drew a technical with just six minutes into the game for disputing a flagrant foul called on his top forward Rey Guevarra.
Earlier, Mapua overwhelmed Angeles University Foundation, 91-77, in a battle of eliminated teams.
The scores:
First Game
MAPUA 91?Acosta 12, Mangahas 11, Sarangay 10, Raneses 10, Cornejo 10, Guillermo 9, Pascual 8, Stevens 6, Cinco 6, Parala 5, Soriano 4, Maniego 0.
AUF 77?Carney 21, Nacu 16, Santos 12, Musni 11, Gomez 8, Henson 4, Gigante 2, Cayanan 2, Maniago 1, Manarang 0, Fuertez 0, Dumlao 0.
Quarters: 21-17, 44-33, 65-52, 91-77
Second Game
SAN BEDA 76?De la Rosa 18, Lanete 16, Gamalinda 15, Pascual 14, Tecson 4, Hermida 4, Daniel 3, Marcelo 2, Tirona 0, Caram 0.
LETRAN 64?Jazul 25, Guevarra 9, Foronda 5, Del Rosario 5, Gutilban 4, Cortes 4, Ke. Alas, Kr. Alas 3, Malabago 3, Taplah 2, Belencion 0, Datang 0.
Quarters: 26-14, 45-22, 64-39, 76-64
