University of Perpetual Help System DALTA closed out its NCAA Season 100 Seniors Basketball Tournament campaign with a bang, stunning Jose Rizal University, 86-82, with a late comeback on Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Despite trailing JRU after a dominant 56-39 first half, Perpetual rallied in the second half (47-26). They showed their grit in the game’s final moments while capitalizing on clutch performances from JP Boral and Mark Gojo Cruz.
Perpetual finished its promising season with a 7-11 win-loss record.
In what appeared to be a lopsided, meaningless match, the bottom-ranked Heavy Bombers seemed invincible. They maintained a double-digit lead until the latter part of the third quarter, courtesy of a 9-3 spurt, 68-51.
Then Gelo Gelsano and Christian Pagaran teamed up for a 6-0 swing that sparked Perpetual’s comeback in the payoff period.
With momentum on their side, the Altas exploded with a 14-5 blitz to cut the deficit to two, 73-71, before Gojo Cruz’s free throws tied the game at 73-all with 4:18 remaining.
Both teams went back and forth, with the score tied again at 78-all until Boral drained a go-ahead triple in the corner, giving Perpetual the lead, 81-78, with 48.3 seconds left.
The Heavy Bombers played without their head coach, who was ejected after Gojo Cruz dribbled away from Ivan Panapanaan, who eventually fouled him.
Gojo Cruz missed the two technical free throws but converted the two from the foul, putting Perpetual on top, 84-79, with 12.6 seconds remaining.
Joshua Guiab managed to cut the lead to two with a corner three, 84-82, but the Altas held on, sealing the comeback victory with Gojo Cruz’s free throws, 86-82.
Boral led Perpetual with 22 points and five rebounds, while John Abis added 15 points and four rebounds. Gelsano contributed 14 points and eight rebounds.
Gojo Cruz finished with 14 points, nine of which came in the fourth quarter.
On the other hand, Shawn Argente scored 17 points, while Guiab also had 17.
However, their efforts weren’t enough as the Heavy Bombers collapsed, dropping to a league-worst 4-13 record.
Jose Rizal University looks to end its Season 100 campaign on a high note against Emilio Aguinaldo College on Friday, Nov. 15, at 2:30 PM at the same venue.
The Scores:
Perpetual Help 86 – Boral 22, Abis 15, Gojo Cruz 14, Gelsano 14, Pagaran 11, Montemayor 5, Nuñez 3, Pizarro 2, Manuel 0, Cauguiran 0, Sevilla 0, Thompson 0
Jose Rizal 82 – Argente 18, Guiab 17, Pangilinan 11, Raymundo 8, Sarmiento 8, Lozano 6, Samontanes 6, Barrera 4, Panapanaan 2, De Jesus 2, Ferrer 0, De Leon 0, Bernardo 0
Quarterscores: 22-28, 39-56, 57-68, 86-82
