Red Robins swoop down on Cubs, clinch top semis spot

MANILA, Philippines – The Mapua Red Robins are back on top after more than a decade of futility.

Displaying championship form from start to finish, the Red Robins shot down the fancied San Beda Cubs, 87-78, Friday to clinch the top seeding in the juniors division of the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

David Velvez exploded with 28 points on an efficient 12 of 17 from the field while Sherwin Concepcion, Dennel Aguirre and Raymund Pascua scattered 18, 13 and 13 points, respectively, to give Mapua its first No. 1 seed since winning it all 14 seasons ago.

"We came into this game with a conscious effort to claim the No. 1 seed because we want to go to the Final Four with confidence," said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara.

Mapua thus forged a Final Four duel with No. 4 Jose Rizal (11-7) while sending No. 2 San Beda into an equally interesting showdown with No. 3 Letran (12-6).

The Red Robins and the Cubs own a twice-to-advantage.

The Mapua-San Beda match served as a preview to a title showdown between the league most titled high school teams as the two boast of 20 championships each.

It used to be that the Red Robins was on the league pedestal being its most dominant team before the Cubs racked in nine championship in the last 14 years including a mighty five-peat feat last year.

The scores:

Mapua 87 – Velvez 28, Concepcion 18, Aguirre 13, Pascua 13, Victoria 9, Lugo 6, Calderon 0, Enriquez 0, Salenga 0, Cabural 0, Bonifacio 0

San Beda 78 – Furaque 16, Decapia 14, Caracut 12, Abuhilje 10, Diputado 9, Abatayo 8, Bordeus 4, Framil 3, Alas 2, Gelalao 0