BY ABBY TORALBA
MAPUA and Letran began their respective bids on a high as the 98th NCAA juniors’ tournament got going yesterday at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Gym.
The Red Robins edged the La Salle Green Hills Greenies 74-70 in overtime as the tourney returned after being sidelined for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the second game, the Squires downed the San Sebastian Golden Staglets 91-86.
Sean Salvador powered Mapua with 15 markers, six rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Nygel Gonzales and Nicolo Mulingtapang scored 10 points apiece.
Carl Rodriguez and Joaquin Coronel added nine points each for Mapua, while Agemenyi had seven markers along with 12 boards, two steals and one dime.
Rod Alian paced La Salle Green Hills with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Christian Mesias delivered 15 markers, nine boards, three dimes and a steal.
Seven Gagate added 13 markers, five boards, an assist and a block for the Greenis as Manuel Pablo contributed eight markers along with 13 rebounds in the losing effort.
Andrei Gemao and Jonathan Manalili led Letran’s scoring with 15 and 14 markers, respectively, while Jolo Navarro delivered 11 points.
George Diamante posted a double-double performance of 10 markers and 13 rebounds for Letran.
Mark Danag scored 23 points for San Sebastian, while Mark De Leon got 14 markers, six assists and four boards.
