Magis Eagles fall short in National High School Championships as San Beda wins crown
Pasay—The San Beda Red Cubs ruled the SM NBTC League National High School Championship anew, beating the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, 79-61, in the finals yesterday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena here.
After going toe to toe with the defending champions Red Cubs for the first 25 minutes of the match, the Magis Eagles blinked and San Beda took advantage, draining three triples in an 11-4 finish to the third that put them behind, 47-59, heading to the last period.
A 14-3 start by the Red Cubs in the fourth hammered the nail in the Eagles’ coffin as it gave the former a commanding 74-50 lead, with less than five minutes to play.
Wily guard Travis Mantua led Ateneo de Cebu with 14 points, five rebounds and six assists while Andrew Velasco added 13 markers. Undersized power forward Eroll Pastor also had 13 points and pulled down 16 boards.
All three were named to the tournament’s Mythical Five along with San Beda’s Peter Alfaro and Evan Nelle, who was eventually named as the competition’s Most Outstanding Player.
Nelle solidified his reputation as one of the country’s top high school prospects has he piled up 18 points, five rebounds and three steals. Alfaro backed him up with 15.
The Magis Eagles were neck-and-neck with the Red Cubs in the first half as they battled back from a 21-26 deficit to tie the game at 28-all at halftime after a deuce by Pastor, a triple by Nacua and a lay-up by Alex Visser.
But the veteran San Beda dribblers found their second wind late in the third, starting with a triple by Luke Sese and another by Cebuano Ain Obenza that gave the Red Cubs a 54-43 lead. Two free throws by Nelle and another three pointer by Sese put the boys in red ahead by 12, 59-47, with just 10 minutes left to play.
San Beda then put the game away behind the play of hulking big man Sam Abu Hiljeh, who threw his weight around against Ateneo de Cebu’s interior defenders and scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth.
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