Red Cubs cop PSSBC title on Lagumen trey
JM Lagumen hit a triple with fivetenths of a second left as San Beda edged Chiang Kai Shek College, 6665, to snare the sixth PSSBC Dickies Underwear Cup crown at the SGS Stadium in Araneta Ave. recently.
The Red Cubs rallied from 11 points down in the third period and fought the Blue Dragons toe-to-toe in the fourth before Lagumen came through with his endgame heroics to deliver the championship for San Beda.
“You can see in my players how they really wanted to win this one. We were down by double figures in the third but they just kept on coming back, kept trusting one another that they can pull through,” said San Beda coach JB Sison.
The Red Cubs took home P80,000 in cash plus a trophy and became the first team to win two titles after ruling the 2014 edition of the tournament sponsored by Hapee Toothpaste, Blackwater, Freego Jeans, Poly Gloss, Rain or Shine, Che Lu Bar & Grill and MEC Computers.
Playmaker Evan Nelle finished with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists and went on to clinch the tournament MVP honors presented by league chairman Rudy Yu of Dickies Underwear.
The National U Bullpups defeated the Far Eastern U Baby Lancers, 87-83, to claim third place.
Joining the 5-foot-11 Nelle in the Mythical Team were CKSC duo of John Galinato and Jason Celis, Rhyann Amsali of NU and University of Visayas’ Jancork Cabahug.
San Beda big man Germy Mahinay added 12 markers and as many rebounds before going down with an ankle injury inside the final minute. But Lagumen took the Finals MVP honors with his clutch performance.
Galinato sizzled with 24 points while three other teammates added at least nine markers each for CKSC, the 2015 titleholder, which suffered a defensive breakdown in the closing minutes.