Akhuetie, Perpetual continue Benilde’s futility

The Perpetual Altas finally showed their dominance. However, it was at the expense of the hapless Benilde Blazers.

In a whitewashing, the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas pounced on the winless Benilde Blazers, 70-55, to tie with the Letran Knights and the Arellano Chiefs in the standings, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Bright Akhuetie stuffed the stat sheet in this game. The 19-year-old scored 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from the field, 5-for-8 from the stripe, nine rebounds, two steals, and four blocks.

However, Perpetual head coach Jimwell Gican was not satisfied with his team’s wire-to-wire win as his team committed 19 turnovers.

“Hindi nga eh, actually yun nga eh maganda ang depensa pero ang turnovers naman ang problema,” he said after the game. “Offense naman namin which is yun ang inaayos nami, ang in-improve namin ngayon. Itong mga susunod na games namin dapat maayos na namin yan”

Once again, the Benilde Blazers could only muster a single digit opening quarter as Perpetual raced to an early 18-6 lead.

The Altas lead further grew to a high of 21 points, 50-29, with 3:33 remaining in the third canto. Gab Dagangon was the main instigator of Perpetual’s third quarter surge, scoring seven of his 16 points in the quarter.

Perpetual’s lead would only go to as low as 13 points, 63-50, after an 7-2 rally by the Blazers with 3:16 remaining. However, AJ Coronel and Akhuetie halted any idea of a Green and White comeback.

“Sa ngayon, para sa amin hindi yun ibang schools ang kalaban namin eh, team namin,” Gican shared. “Kailangan itaas pa namin yung level namin kasi kung hindi baka mangyari na naman ang last year. Yun ang pinaka-ayaw naming mangyari, yung last year na paakyat-pababa ang level.”

Fons Saavedra got extended minutes since Clement Letcheu did not suit up for the Blazers due to a shin injury. Saavedra scored 15 points on just 6-for-14 shooting.

Perpetual shot 38 percent from the field compared to an abysmal 31 percent shooting by CSB. Moreover, Benilde sent Perpetual to the line 31 times, converting on 23. On the other end, the Gabby Velasco-mentored squad went to the line just nine times.

The Perpetual Altas (4-2) will next face the red hot Lyceum Pirates (3-3) on Friday, July 29 at 2:00pm. The Benilde Blazers (0-7) have a tall task in front of them, as they face the Arellano Chiefs (4-2) on the same day at 4:00pm.

The Scores:

UPHSD (70) – Akhuetie 21, Dagangon 16, Eze 10, Pido 7, Hao 7, Coronel 6, Dizon 2, Singontiko 1, Sadiwa 0, Gallardo 0, Oliveria 0, Yuhico 0.

CSB (55) – Saavedra 15, Domingo JJ 9, Young 9, Haruna 6, Fajarito 6, Dixon 4, Belgica 3, Castor 2, Pajarillaga 1, San Juan 0, Pasamante 0, Pili 0.

Quarterscores: 15-6, 32-24, 57-39, 70-55.