St. Clare, PMMS zero in on semis

MANILA, Philippines – St. Clare College-Caloocan checked its skid with a 96-85 victory over Lyceum of Subic Bay while Philippine Merchant Marine School repelled Enderun College, 70-64, as they bolstered their bid for outright semis berths in the 16th NAASCU men’s basketball tournament at the RTU gym yesterday.

The Saints banked on Ronjay Santos, Paeng Rebugio, Jordan Rios and Bong Managuelod to beat the Sharks and move to solo second with a 9-3 record.

Santos fired 23 points, Rebugio added 22 markers, Rios contributed 18 points and Managuelod had 10 markers for the Saints, who snapped a three-game skid.

Pabrice Djilla, the 6-10 Cameroonian recruit, and Carl Lumbao scored 17 points each for the Sharks, who dropped to 9-4 in a tie with PMMS and Enderun.

The Mariners, on the other hand, rode on Jake Yagonia, Donmark Matillano and Jake Quilatan’s heroics to topple the Titans.

Yagonia shot 16 points for the Las Piñas City-based Mariners. Matillano and Quilatan added 12 and 11 markers, respectively.

Earlier, AMA University topped Colegio de San Lorenzo, 91-90, to notch its fourth win against nine losses.