San Sebastian’s TJ Felebrico.–NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Paeng Are got sidelined by a swollen right knee even before the San Sebastian Stags could take the floor.

The absence of the high-scoring guard hardly mattered at all as the Stags turned back the Arellano Chiefs, 88-75, after amazingly wiping out a 15-point deficit on Sunday in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.

Tristan Felebrico readily took the challenge, leading the Stags with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Nikko Aguilar assumed Are’s role with 16 points, majority of which came in the final half.

“We were not aggressive in the first half. We were told to be composed, one stop at a time and execute our plays properly,” said Aguilar in Filipino, whose three at the start of the third finally reversed the trend for the Stags.

Reggz Gabat was likewise efficient after tallying 12 points and Raymart Escobido added 10 as the Stags recorded their fourth victory in 14 games.

Are, the tournament’s leading scorer at 19 points per game, had a bad fall in a double-overtime setback at the hands of the Letran Knights last week.

Although the possibility of advancing to the Final Four is already out of their hands, the Stags remain a risky foe even to the contenders.

“We treat every game as a championship match. For us, each time we go out there is a knockout game,” said San Sebastian coach Arvin Bonleon.

That’s exactly the mindset they exercised in frustrating the Chiefs, who dropped to 5-9 and saw their two-game streak come to an end.

JL Capulong had 14 points, his last five cutting down the San Sebastian lead down to seven, but time wasn’t on Arellano’s side after the Stags resorted to milking the clock.

SAN SEBASTIAN 88 – Felebrico 17, Aguilar 16, R. Gabat 12, Escobido 10, L. Gabat 9, Maliwat 8, Velasco 7, Ramilo 6, Lintol 2, Chuidian 1, Pascual 0, Suico 0, Cruz 0, Barroga 0

ARELLANO 75 – Capulong 14, Abiera 11, Ongotan 10, Vinoya 8, Libang 6, Camay 6, Valencia 5, Hernal 5, Miller 4, Geronimo 3, Espiritu 3, Borromeo 0, Flores 0

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Quarter scores: 20-22nextbet, 35-46, 61-57, 88-75

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