The San Beda Red Lions imposed their will over a depleted University of the Philippines side to pull out a convincing 83-65 victory in the seniors' division of the 25th Fr. Martin's Cup Summer League.
Ain Obenza's 18 points on three triples carried the Red Lions, which won their first game in the tournament after three tries to improve to 1-2 in the Group A standings. Ralph Penuela and Rey Reyno added 14 markers apiece as five Red Lions finished in double-digit scoring.
It was Arnaud Noah who sparked the attack for the Red Lions, leading them to a 9-2 start in the opening quarter before fellow foreign student-athlete Eugene Toba continued the brilliant run by scoring seven straight points in the second quarter to open up a 34-16 lead for San Beda.
Eugene Toba of San Beda goes up for a shot against UP Fighting Maroons defenders. (Fr. Martin's Cup images)
The Fighting Maroons, who are without Bright Akhuetie and upcoming go-to guys Ricci Rivero and Kobe Paras, tried to come back, trimming the deficit to just 43-36 early in the third period.
But Obenza suddenly exploded, drilling back to back threes in a quick 8-0 run later on which pushed the San Beda advantage up to 57-40.
Toba and Noah added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Toba also hauled down 6 rebounds. David Murrell and Joe Gomez De Liano led the UAAP Season 81 runners-up with 11 points each.
In a battle of debuting teams, Rhayyan Amsali finally played his first game wearing the colors of the San Beda Red Cubs as his Team A crew beat their San Beda-Taytay Team B counterparts 99-72.
The highly-touted high school sensation waxed hot early, hitting baskets from inside and out as he carried his squad to a comfortable 35-6 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
Amsali was the high-point man with 21 points. He also finished with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in an all-around display of his caliber. New recruit Winston Ynot contributed 17 points while four others scored 10 or more for Team A.
For Team B, it was Rojan Montemayor who top-scored with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting while also tallying 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 5 blocked shots.
In the final game, the Letran Squires pulled away in the second quarter to repulse the TRESTON International College Golden Cubs, 71-49 and gain solo leadership in juniors Group A.
Kyle Tolentino and Andrei Romenez joined hands and took turns in establishing the control for the Squires, whose gap reached as high as 65-40 midway in the fourth quarter.
Tolentino chipped in 13 points while Romenez had 11 markers, 4 assists, and 4 steals to lead the Squires to a 2-0 card in the juniors division. The Golden Cubs fell to 1-1.