NCAA: Torculas leads San Beda’s surge en route to Player of the Week nod

San Beda University’s Aldous Torculas against Jose Rizal University in NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball. Angela Davocol/NCAA Philippines.MANILA — Aldous Torculas continues to lead the charge for San Beda University, powering the Red Lions to a share of the Group A lead as the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament enters its crucial stages.

The versatile forward delivered in two close victories over Jose Rizal University and the surging Emilio Aguinaldo College, earning him the Collegiate Press Corps (CPC) Player of the Week award for October 19 to 23.

Torculas stuffed the stat sheet against JRU on Friday with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and a steal as San Beda held off a late Heavy Bombers rally, 75-71, to improve to 7-3.

He also came through in another tight contest on Monday, leading the Red Lions past EAC, 89-86, with 19 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Torculas continued to shoulder the scoring load for San Beda even when his shots were not consistently falling, making just 4-of-12 attempts from the field against EAC before going 6-of-14 against JRU.

Still, his energy on both ends helped the Red Lions secure back-to-back wins and strengthen their bid for a top-two finish. He averaged 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks across the two outings.

Despite his contributions on both ends of the floor, Torculas stressed that he was simply leading by example as San Beda continues its title-retention bid.

“Our goal is to finish Number onO,” Torculas said. San Beda is seeking a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals with only three games left in the group stage. “I’m really happy because we worked hard for this.”

“We showed that we can make the winning plays. In important games like these, we have to stick together despite the challenges,” Torculas added.

He edged Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s Aaron Buenasalida, Mapua University’s Marc Cuenco, and Lyceum of the Philippines University’s Matt Rubico for the weekly honor.