After missing Arellano’s NCAA Season 94 campaign due to an ACL tear in his right knee, Kent Salado is now making up for lost time this season.
For example: last Friday, with his squad down seven in the final frame against Perpetual, Salado put the Chiefs on his back and carried them to a gutsy win.
Behind the graduating guard, Arellano overcame their deficit with a 16-1 run for an eight-point lead.
Salado’s heroics did not end there, though. When the Altas came knocking within two, he drove hard to the basket and dished to Dariel Bayla, who then converted an and-one play.
With 14 seconds left in the match, he once again flaunted his playmaking brilliance, setting up Justin Arana underneath to seal Perpetual’s fate.
The 5-foot-8 playmaker wound up with 18 points, 12 assists, four steals, three rebounds and, most importantly, the win that arrested the Chiefs’ three-game losing skid.
With his exceptional performance, Salado earned the Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week award.
“Sinasabihan ko lang yung teammates ko na kaya pa naman natin, kasi kaya nga natin yung malalakas, humahabol nga tayo. ‘Wag lang dapat kami mawalan ng gana,” said the Cagayan de Oro native about 3-9 Arellano’s playoff hopes.
Salado edged Noah Lugo of Mapua, James Canlas of San Beda, and Jaycee Marcelino of Lyceum for the weekly recognition given by print and online scribes covering the country’s oldest collegiate league.
