Former University of San Carlos wingman Stephen Que finally had his breakout game as he spearheaded the Mapua Cardinals’ early charge en route to registering a lopsided 101-72 win over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals in the 91st NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.
Que, a Filipino-American who suited up for the Warriors for a few seasons before getting recruited to play for Mapua, had 11 of his 17 points in the first half to fuel the Cardinals’ breakaway.
After leading by just one, 15-14, Mapua leaned on Que’s torrid scoring to create some distance and lead, 45-33, at halftime.
The win was a crucial one for the Cardinals as it pushed their record to 2-3 (win-loss) while dropping EAC to 0-4.
The comebacking hotshot, Josan Nimes, led Mapua with 18 markers.
However, Que was not the only Cebuano to win Player of the Game honors as former University of Southern Philippines-Foundation big man Jomari Sollano achieved the same feat in Letran’s 79-71 win over the Perpetual Help Altas in a battle of unbeaten teams on Thursday.
Sollano had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks on top of his solid defense on the Altas’ star center, Bright Akhuetie, who was held down to just seven points and six rebounds.
More importantly, Letran now remains as the league’s only unbeaten squad at 5-0 while the Altas share second place with San Beda at 4-1.
THE SCORES:
Mapua (101) — Nimes 18, Que 17, Serrano 16, Biteng 12, Isit 12, Nieles 7, Menina 6, Aguirre 5, Oraeme 4, Villasenor 2, Dela Rosa 2, Layug 0, Raflores 0.
EAC (72) — Hamadou 16, Munsayac 15, Onwubere 13, Pascual 11, General 8, Mejos 5, Diego 4, Bonleon 0, Estacio 0.
Quarterscores: 15-14, 45-33, 72-54, 101-72.
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