NGBL: UST, Mapua stay unbeaten; LSGH gets first win

UST's Racine Kane in action against Letran in the Next Generation Basketball League, September 1, 2024 at the Tanduay Gym in Manila. Handout/NGBL

MANILA -- University of Santo Tomas and Mapua University took care of business on Sunday to remain unbeaten in the Next Generation Basketball League (NGBL).

The Tiger Cubs improved to 3-0 after a 69-63 win over sister school Colegio de San Juan de Letran at the Tanduay Gym in Manila, with Racine Kane doing the heavy lifting yet again for UST.

"After the first half, Coach Manu [Iñigo] told us that we needed to win this game," said Kane, who had 22 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal en route to being named WB Player of the Game. "If we do, we boost our chances of going into the quarterfinals, that’s why we played hard."

UST trailed by 10 early in the contest before turning the game around in the second half. Kane got a boost from Kyle Buenaflor and Liam Acio as they opened the third period with an 8-0 run.

They went on to lead by 13 points in the fourth quarter, 66-53, off a deuce from Kane with 3:33 left.

The Squires rallied late and cut the deficit to six, 68-62, with under a minute to go but it was too little, too late. They absorbed their first defeat in three games. Justin Hugo headed the Muralla boys with 14 points, while Daniel Padilla finished with 10 markers.

Meanwhile, the Red Robins improved to 3-0 in Group A after they moved past Ateneo de Manila University, 77-67, in an intense NCAA-UAAP action.

Sean Salvador earned WB Best Player of the Game honors after putting up 18 points, three assists, and two boards.

"Talagang nag adjust kami after ng first quarter. Actually, yun talaga yung sakit namin. Pero sinabi ko lang sa mga teammates ko na kailangan naming mag mature sa loob ng court, especially yung mga seniors," said Salvador.

"Nag stick lang rin kami sa defense namin," he added.

After trailing 13-7 in the first quarter, Mapua closed the period on a 13-2 run to seize control of the contest. They stayed composed even after the ejection of Carl Rodriguez at the 4:06 mark of the second frame for hitting Chris Urbina.

The Red Robins' lead ballooned to 20 points, 76-56, in the fourth period. To add to Ateneo's woes, coach Ford Arao was assessed with two consecutive technical fouls in the final quarter and was thrown out of the game. 

Urbina had 13 points and Ethan Kaw added 12 for the Blue Eagles, who dropped to 1-2.

La Salle Greenhills finally ended its slump after dumping Xavier School, 88-73. 

"Defense was very important for us today. Good defense leads to good offense. Once we started playing good defense, we started playing better, passing the ball, and we found the open man," said WB Player of the Game Andre Bautista who fired 23 points (6/10 3pts) on top of two rebounds and a steal. 

Renren Ritualo's team leaned on a strong second quarter to overcome the Golden Stallions' 22-17 lead. Bautista and Ram Sharma went to work in the frame, powering LSGH to a 44-35 halftime advantage.

Franko Osis then went to work in the second half, helping the Greenies build a 21-point advantage. 

Xavier, who played its second straight game in as many days, is now at 0-5 in the tournament.

The scores:

First Game: 

Mapua 77 — Salvador 18, Del Poso 14, Reyes 12, Coronel 12, Miranda 8, Gragasin 5, Duque 4, Laurenaria 3, Tagocon 1, Loriaga 0, Bagro 0, Rodriguez 0, Laylo 0, Tolentino 0.

Ateneo 67 — Urbina 13, Kaw 12, Espinas 10, Ymasa 8, Leal 8, Delos Santos 6, Asistio 5, Gatmaitan 3, Silvestre 2, Trinidad 0, Aquino 0, Reyes 0, Tan 0.

Second Game:

UST 69 — Kane 22, Loreto 12, Acido 8, Cañete 8, Buenaflor 7, Bucsit 4, Solon 4, Vidanes 3, Bandigan 1, Javier 0, Bohol 0, Cinco 0.

Letran 63 — Hugo 14, Padilla 10, Valdevilla 8, Silorio 7, Pico 4, Reyes 4, Cruz 4, Dela Rama 3, Villanueva 3, Sumagang 2, Magcale 2, Paguio 2, Quinones 0, Lumague 0, Quijada 0. 

Third Game:

LSGH 88 — Bautista 23, Osis 19, Ortega 8, Ison 7, Sharma 7, Quines 7, Hachuela 6, Podador 5, Hizon 4, Gomez 2, Calanasan 0, Abad 0, Torres 0, Peralta 0, Tud 0, Natividad 0.

Xavier 73 — Uy 19, Choa 13, A.Chio 9, Ramirez 9, Ja. Tan 7, Je. Tan 6, Cue 4, Go 2, Lagar 2, Fernandez 2, Tangsoc 0, Dy 0, Escudero 0, Yaomontek 0.