#PinoyligaCupFinals: San Beda Vittos claim 40UP-B crown with mauling of Adamson

San Beda-Vittos cemented its claim as one of the best teams in the Pinoyliga Alumni Cup, after mauling Adamson to pieces, 79-56 to claim their 40-UP Division B title Saturday morning at the Gatorade Hoops Center.

The Red Lions never gave the Falcons a chance right from the opening tip, scoring the first eight points in the championship game and never looked back as they lead by as much as 26, with Shintaro Dela Cruz shone for the second straight title game to win their first crown in the new year.

Dela Cruz got his second Finals MVP award by leading San Beda with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, only missing once from the field as they hit almost 51% of their shots in the entire game, despite only going 2/10 from beyond the arc.

San Beda's depth was a huge factor in the game, with all but three of the 16 players in uniform got into the scoresheet, outnumbering the entire crew that Adamson fielded in the contest.

In contrast to Adamson, they only shot 22/63 (35%) in total field goals, and were totally outclassed when they turned the ball over 25 times.

After holding the Falcons to just eight first-quarter points, San Beda coasted to the easy win in which they peaked at 58-32 with less than two mintues in the third on a Dela Cruz three-point play.

Datdat Espinosa had 27 points for the Falcons in their first title game in the Pinoyliga Cup.

The scores:

SAN BEDA-VITTOS 79 -- Dela Cruz 23, Capistrano 10, Bernarte 7, Agarao 6, Oliveros 6, Belgica 6, Manalo 6, Pebenito 6, santos 3, Salonga 2, Ukol 2, Gonzales 2

ADAMSON 56 -- Espinosa 27, Cudilla 12, Cinco 5, Deles 4, Illustrisimo 4, Sarmiento 2, Aguares 2.

Quarter scores: 26-8, 42-20, 60-39, 79-56

Photo by Benny Benitez/Pinoyliga.com