In a heated affair, the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas were able to keep their cool, scoring a wire-to-wire 70-53 win over the stumbling Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals to gain solo second, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Once again, Bright Akhuetie led the Altas. The 19-year-old big man filled up the stat sheet, scoring 19 markers on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 7-of-8 from the stripe. He also grabbed 12 boards, dished out four dimes, and swatted away two shots.
“Dahandahan na siyang nakakabalik sa limelight niya,” said Perpetual head coach Jimwell Gican. “Sana magtuloy-tuloy na ang pag-improve ng conditioning niya.”
“I also hope so. We’re still recovering,” Akhuetie added. “It’s good to come out and play like this every game.”
The Altas relied on their grinding defense in the opening half, limiting the EAC Generals to a horrid 22 percent from the field. On the other end, Akhuetie and AJ Coronel combined for 16 of Perpetual’s 30 first half points that helped give their team a ten point edge entering the second half.
“Kahit ganoon ang opensa namin, at least gumagana pa rin yung depensa namin,” Gican shared.
Things got heated at the start of the final frame. With the Altas up 50-36, fiery forward Sidney Onwubere and Prince Eze got into a brief argument, resulting in an unsportmanlike foul called on the latter and a technical foul on Onwubere’s teammate Hamadou Laminou for taunting.
Even with this, the Generals could not gain any momentum going. EAC lived off the charity stripe, with eight of their 12 fourth quarter points coming from the line.
With the win almost secured with 1:52 remaining, and the Altas up 62-50, Perpetual’s floor general Keith Pido was pick-pocketed by Francis Munsayac. However, Pido overextended his right shoulder in the process.
“Titignan pa namin pero sana hindi malala,” the Perpetual mentor said about the injury.
The Altas continued to surge afterwards, eventually gaining a game-high 17 point lead, 70-53 — the final score.
Gab Dagangon added 15 points and eight boards, while AJ Coronel scored 10 markers.
For EAC, Jorem Morada led the team with 15 points on a dismal 5-for-16 shooting. Hamadou Laminou added 14 points and 13 rebounds, but committed a game-high six turnovers.
As a team, EAC ended the game shooting just 22.54 percent from the field and were just 17-for-28 from the field.
The Perpetual Altas (6-2) play their final game of the elimination round on Thursday, August 4, against the Mapua Cardinals at 4:00pm. On the other hand, the EAC Generals (2-6) look to bounce back, facing the hapless Benilde Blazers on the same day at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
UPHSD (70) – Akhuetie 19, Dagangon 15, Coronel 10, Hao 9, Singontiko 5, Pido 4, Gallardo 4, Sadiwa 2, Eze 2, Dizon 0, Cabiltes 0, Oliveria 0
EAC (53) – Morada 15, Laminou 14, Onwubere 13, Corilla 3, Guzman 3, Mendoza 3, Munsayac 2, King 0, Diego 0, Serrano 0, Pascua 0, Neri 0, General 0, Aguas 0, Estacio 0
Quarterscores: 16-10, 30-20, 48-32, 70-53.
