Basketball
Sangalang, Abueva dominate as San Sebastian snaps Perpetual’s streak
InterAKTV/Justin Gener
Coming into their game against the Perpetual Help Altas, the San Sebastian Stags had something to prove.
“We want to earn back the respect we momentarily lost after two close games,” said center Ian Sangalang before the game.
Behind the scoring of Sangalang and the triple-double effort of Calvin Abueva, San Sebastian handed Perpetual Help its first loss, 80-65, in NCAA Season 88 ation Monday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Sangalang posted 23 points, while Abueva had 15 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists for the Stags, who raised their win-loss record to 2-1 to tie the Altas.
Abueva explained his willingness to pass in the game. “Basta overall, nag-act lang ako as decoy today, sumakto lang na dumadating sa akin yung bola,” he said.
San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson took the Perpetual challenge very seriously. “I told them na yung morale an confidence ng Perpetual are high but they still respect us. Kahit they’re coming off a big win against Letran, they still have to worry about us. Now, they will have to give San Sebastian a second look again. This game proves we’re not relaxing just because we just got off two close games,” he said.
Abueva said the team prepared hard for the Altas despite a tight schedule. “Hard practice pa din kami kahapon kahit one day preparation lang kami for Perpetual. Nag-adjust lang kami sa sona.
“May respect ako syempre sa Perpetual dahil maganda na ang tinatakbo nila and tinalo nila yung Letran na tumalo sa amin.”
Despite efforts of San Sebastian to break away, Perpetual trailed by just one point at halftime, 35-34.
The Stags turned on the heat after the break, holding the Altas scoreless for nine minutes and limiting them to just two field goals in the third period. Sangalang scored 10 points in a 14-3 run to build a 54-39 lead.
San Sebastian continued to dominate in the fourth quarter, posting its biggest lead of 20 points, 71-51, with six minutes remaining.
The Scores:
San Sebastian (80) — Sangalang 23, Dela Cruz 16, Juico 15, Abueva 15, Antipuesto 5, Balucanag 4, Maiquez 2, Rebollos 0, Binuya 0, Vitug 0, Pascual 0.
Perpetual (65) — Omorogbe 18, Alano 12, Vidal 11, Paulino 10, Thompson 6, Arboleda 3, Elopre 3, Babayemi 2, Roman 0, Cenita 0, Jolangcob 0, Allen 0.
Quarters: 19-11, 35-34, 58-42, 80-65
