WHEN Allyn Bulanadi is hot, he’s almost unstoppable.
The lefty gunner fired a career-best 44 points as San Sebastian College-Recoletos downed University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, 99-94, and claimed the fourth and last semis berth in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan City.
The 6-foot-1 Bulanadi waxed hot from all angles, he highlighted his 14-of-26 shooting from the field by draining seven triples in nearly 34 minutes of action.
Not only that, he also collected eight rebounds and four assists in a solid all-around game as the Stags secured the fourth seed in the stepladder playoffs that starts on Nov. 5.
“Kailangang pumasok sa Final Four. Hindi natin alam kung anong pwede na mangyari kung matalo kami in this game and mag-playoffs pa (against Mapua),” said the 22-year-old Bulanadi, who is a deadringer of PBA legend Allan Caidic.
“Kung matalo kami in this game, kami rin ang mapapagod (playing in the playoffs). Ginawa ko lang yung best ko para sa buong Baste (San Sebastian community),” said the native of Davao City.
Now, the Stags will instead face No. 3 Letran Knights in the first round of the stepladder playoffs after defending three-time champion San Beda University completed an 18-game sweep of the eliminations.
“Last time kami naka-pasok sa semifinals Letran din ang kalaban namin in a stepladder,” said SSC-R head coach Egay Macaraya, referring to the 2017 season before they missed the playoffs last season.
“We’ll have several days to prepare for Letran, We’ll give it our best, hindi lang naman dapat matapos sa naka-pasok sa playoffs yan. Our goal is to make the Finals, and hopefully win the championship,” added Macaraya.
The Stags finished the eliminations with an 11-7 card.
The winner of the Stags-Knights playoffs will advance in the second round of the stepladder match against No. 2 Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates on Nov. 8, with the winner moving to the best-of-three Finals series versus the top seeded Red Lions starting Nov. 12.
It wasn’t a walk in the park for the Stags after they blew a 12-point lead (65-53) in the third quarter and fell behind 79-77.
But Bulanado rose to the occasion once again, shattering an 84-all count with a drive then capped his game-long brilliance with his 7th triple that gave the Stags a 93-88 cushion.
SSC-R also got solid contributions from veteran guard RK Ilagan with 22 points, while Alvin Capobres added 10 points.
Perpetual Help, which finished the eliminations with a 5-13 record, got 22 points from graduating guard Edgar Charcos. Kim Aurin had 20 points, while Jielo Razon contributed 18 points and 11 boards.
Meantime, College of St. Benilde closed out its campaign on a winning note by downing Mapua, 68-62.
Both Benilde and Mapua finished with similar 9-9 records. (Waylon Galvez)
The scores:
First Game
SSC-R 99 – Bulanadi 44, Ilagan 22, Capobres 10, Calma 6, Villapando 6, Calahat 6, Tero 3, Sumoda 2, Isidro 0, Cosari 0, Desoyo 0, Altamirano 0.
PERPETUL HELP 94 – Charcos 22, Aurin 20, Razon 18, Peralto 10, Adamos 8, Martel 6, Giussani 6, Sevilla 2, Tamayo 2, Lanoy 0, Cuevas 0.
Quarters: 27-18; 48-44; 76-65; 99-94.
Second Game
CSB 68 – Haruna 13, Leutcheu 8, Young 8, Gutang 8, Naboa 8, Flores 6, Belgica 5, Dixon 4, Mosqueda 3, Nayve 3, Lim 2, Carlos 0.
MAPUA 62 – Lugo 13, Serrano 11, Aguirre 10, Buñag 9, Gonzales 7, Bonifacio 7, Victoria 3, Nocum 2, Gamboa 0, Nieles 0, Salenga 0, Jabel 0, Garcia 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 35-29, 52-44, 68-62.
