Mariano tows Santo Tomas to victory over reeling San Sebastian

Players from DLSU and Lyceum had to be separated in a fracas following a hard foul committed late in the 4th quarter of their Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Cup match. (FCF / Ralph Samson)

De La Salle University barely survived a tenacious Lyceum squad, while University of Santo Tomas pulled through in the endgame against San Sebastian during Friday’s 2013 Filoil Flying V Pre-Season Premier Cup action at The Arena in San Juan.

Jeron Teng led all scorers with 19 points to carry the more composed De La Salle to maintain a perfect 4-0 card via a 70-64 victory over the Pirates in a highly physical matchup that saw multiple players hitting the showers early.

Norbert Torres added in 10 points along with 9 rebounds, while Jason Perkins registered 9 points with 13 rebounds.

Lyceum kept within striking distance of the Green Archers throughout the game. The Pirates almost abolished La Salle’s lead by the end of the third quarter thanks to their outside shooting.

However, things started going downhill for the Pirates as three of their players fouled out. The already physical game became even more physical when Gabby Reyes was fouled during a fast break, resulting in a short-lived fracas pitting the two sides.

Six players were ejected from both sides as a result of the bench-clearing incident, namely Arwin Azores, Shaq Alanes, and reserve Wilson Baltazar for Lyceum; while Arnold Van Opstal, Robert Bolick, and Mat Salem were sent to the showers for La Salle.

De La Salle center Yutien Andrada being carried off the court following a knee injury in their game against Lyceum on Friday. (FCF / Ralph Samson)

Despite the win, the already short-handed Green Archers stand to lose yet another member of their now depleted lineup, as Yutien Andrada went down with a right knee injury at the 5:21 mark of the 1st quarter and never returned.

Back in 2011, Andrada suffered a torn ACL on the same knee.

Currently, La Salle is missing the services of guards LA Revilla and Almond Vosotros due to a rash assortment of injuries.

On the other hand, the Growling Tigers defeated a struggling San Sebastian five, 83-79, to deal the Stags’ fourth loss in the tournament.

Aljon Mariano drained 8 of his 14 two point attempts to lead the Growling Tiger squad in terms of scoring with 23 points along with 6 rebounds and two assists. Karim Abdul registered a double double with 10 points and rebounds while Clark Bautista shot 50 percent from behind the arc to score 12.

Dubbed as the “New Beast”, rookie Jaymark Perez led all scorers with an impressive 24 points along with 4 steals. Jovit De La Cruz added 20 while Leo De Vera fired in 12.

UST controlled most of the game before San Sebastian launched an unrelenting run led by Perez early in the second half to finally take the lead by the start of the fourth quarter at 59-58.

It was a tug-of-war from then on as both squads exchanged baskets, but it was the University of Sto. Tomas who ultimately prevailed , 83-79 , thanks to their efficiency on shooting from outside the arc aswell as converting several of their trips in the charity lane.

In the lone women’s game, Centro Escolar University triumped over Lyceum, 61-54.

Ybur Mendoza and Aper Pontejos led the CEU in terms of scoring with 18 and 14 points respectively while Import Shaddy Ogunsenmuyen added in 10 markers with a game high 20 rebounds along with Marjone Mercado who fired 10 points to complete the Lady Scorpion’s double digit scorers.

Vazquez was the only player from Lyceum that scored in double digits with 19 points along with 5 assists and a steal.

With the win, CEU improves their slate with a 2-1 win-loss card, while Lyceum succumbs to their third consecutive loss in as many games.