By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The San Beda Red Lions finally entered the winning column of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 98 men’s basketball after annihilating the EAC Generals, 85-56.
Fresh off a disappointing opening game day loss at the hands of the Mapua Cardinals, the Red Lions learned from their mistakes and quickly recovered their rhythm against the Generals.
It was San Beda who immediately grabbed the momentum after destroying EAC’s interior defense with their relentless drives going to the basket.
Superstar and veteran swingman James Kwekuteye led the early San Beda onslaught and finished with an all-around performance of 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block.
After the tip-off, the former NCAA champion established San Beda’s desired pace and led their quick attack every time they collected the defensive boards.
The Red Lions ballooned its largest lead of the ball game to 41 points and never gave any chances to the young EAC squad.
San Beda provided the early exclamation point after maintaining its double-digit lead the whole final canto despite a late 12-2 burst from the Generals.
Yukien Andrada backstopped Kwekuteye with a near double-double performance of 13 points and eight rebounds in just 19 minutes of playing time.
The Generals never cut San Beda’s lead to single digits and were struggling the whole game including a poor performance from the shooting field.
Savvy big man Allen Liwag of the Generals was held to a heartbreaking 0/8 from the field after a fantastic performance during the NCAA 98 season opener.
It was sniper Joshua Tolentino who led the losing side with 16 points while guard Kriss Gurtiza chipped in 10 points.
