Evan Nelle struck hard from the outside, while Sam Abuhijle’s imposing presence underneath worked wonders for the San Beda Red Cubs last Friday at the Arena in San Juan.
Nelle’s showed he had steady hands that day, firing 21 points and scored five on nine three-point attempts to lead the Red Cubs to a 91-56 blasting of the Emilio Aguinaldo College Brigadiers.
With Abuhijle making 10 points and 12 rebounds, the Red Cubs went on to move back into contention for the no. 2 seeding in the Final Four semifinals of the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) junior basketball tournament.
With their 11-5 win-loss record, they caught up with the second running La Salle Greenhills Greenies, who took a 63-71 loss from the Arellano Brave last Thursday.
“Iyun ang target namin, ang twice to beat advantage. Pero hindi pa sure, may two games pa,” said Red Cubs coach JB Sison.
Sison said things went according to plan as they took control early.
First, a 10-0 run touched off by Josh Tagala and Robbie Nayve set things in motion.
Then, Nelle’s two triples in the last 2:29 pushed them 26-4 advantage.
“Controlled agad namin ang game. Kahit sino ipasok ko, upbeat maglaro,” added Sison.
Ain Obenza and Luke Sese combine for 13 points in the second period and provided baskets that gave San Beda a 53-22 halftime spread.