Stags halt Dolphins; Bombers prevail

San Sebastian held off Philippine Christian University’s spirited rally in the final half to escape with a 61-55 victory and gain a share of third place yesterday halfway through the first round of the 77th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Jose Rizal University nailed its fourth straight victory but not after getting a big scare from a hard-fighting San Beda unit as the Heavy Bombers pulled off a 103-98 victory in the second game.

The Heavy Bombers, the only unbeaten squad this year, needed a lot of spurts to turn back the Red Lions, being coached by the energetic Rene Baena. Ernani Epondulan, JRU’s heart and soul, delivered the decisive baskets on his way to a season-high 43 points.

San Beda fell to 1-3.

The Stags are now tied with Mapua and defending champion St. Benilde at 2-2. The Dolphins, this year’s hosts, fell to 1-3 in a tie with Perpetual Help.

The Stags, last year’s losing finalists, seemed headed toward a lopsided win after posting a huge 42-24 lead late in the second quarter until the Dolphins, fresh from a stunning 68-64 victory over St. Benilde last Thursday, clawed back into the game to close in at 51-55 with four minutes left.

After Roy Falcasantos countered with a triple, PCU threatened at 55-58 before the SSC quarterback once again came to the rescue, connecting on a gliding bank shot with only 16 ticks left. Gerard Reguera pegged the final score with a charity after a missed attempt by the Dolphins.

Mark Macapagal, the reigning MVP, led all scorers with 16 points while Reguera came in next with 14, 10 of them coming in the third quarter where the Stags slowly turned an 18-12 first-quarter lead into an 18-point bubble. Christian Coronel had two triples in that San Sebastian onslaught.