Pinoyliga Cup Finals: UST takes down San Sebastian for 40-UP crown

MANDALUYONG -- UST had to survive a late surge by San Sebastian to clinch the 40 and Up title of the Pinoyliga Cup at the Gatorade Hoops Center with a nailbiting 81-77 decision to open up the Championship Saturday.

Banking on by former Purefoods big man Richard Yee, the SSI Metal-backed Tigers withstood a late rally by the Golden Stags, with Mark Macapagal catching fire late. UST - SSI Metal went on to sweep the tournament. 

Yee, who was part of the four-peat dynasty of coach Aric Del Rosario in the 90s, had 19 points and 9 rebounds to lead UST, as he also was the Finals MVP owing to his 47.5 Statistical points accumulated with a 17.45 PER.

Fellow Tiger alums Jake Agleron and Rommel David added 16 and 11 respectively

Former Sta. Lucia point-guard Christian Coronel led all scorers with 20 points, with Macapagal, an ex-Ginebra sniper fired in all of his 18 points in the pay-off period.

After a John Anabo triple for a 13-10 SSCR lead, UST fired a 10-0 run to lead by seven at the end of the first.

The Stags still kept it close even if Macapagal and Jam Alfad came into the game in the second half, pulling to within a point in the final period but UST answered that with a 9-0 reply to keep some distance.

However, Baste refused to quit as Macapagal pulled them to within three before Yee fired an undergoal stab to put the game away, leading by five 79-74 with 32 seconds to go.

The scores:

UST-SSI Metal 81 -- Yee 19, Agleron 16, David 11, Del Rosario 8, Ang 6, Javier 4, Kaw 3, Dytiandu 3, Kiong 3, Aquino 3, Limoanco 3, Ong 2, Pacheco 0

San Sebastian 77 -- Coronel 20, Javier 18, Macapagal 14, Chu 9,  Anabo 7, Alfad 3, Campo 2, Andaya 2, Vitug 2, Ama 0

Quarter scores: 20-13, 40-36, 59-55, 81-77

For compete game stats, visit; https://www.pinoyliga.com/box-score/san-sebastian-college-recoletos---manila-stags-vs-university-of-santo-tomas---ssi-metal/pgMTQ4MjIwNw==

(photo by Pinoyliga Cup)