In a battle of two also-ran squads in the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Arellano University survived a comeback scare from University of Perpetual Help System DALTA with an 86-81, Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Chiefs hiked their record to 7-9 to remain in fifth. On the other hand, the Altas fell to an 8-9 win-loss slate for eighth.
Down by 13, 69-82, the trio of Shawn Orgo, Jeff Egan, and Carlo Ferreras utilized a 10-0 run to cut the deficit by three, 79-82, with 2:04 left in the clock.
Then Cade Flores made a basket on the other end to get the 84-79 advantage with 1:38 left in the game.
With 11.7-ticks left, Orgo drove a layup to cut the lead again by three, 81-84. However, that was the closest the Altas could get.
Rey Barcuma fouled Art Oliva while was stealing the ball. Oliva then sank his two give freebies for the win, 86-81, with 5.3 left.
“Kasi parang kami… Kasi catch-up basketball sila eh. Para makahabol sila, kailangan mailabas nila si Cade. Kasi ang ganda ng nilalaro ni Cade diba. Everytime na nasa loob si Cade – lalamang kami,” said head coach Cholo Martin.
“So ganon talaga kailangan mo i-physical si Cade. Kung hindi mahihirapan ka, so siyempre ang intention nila depensahan – physical. Kung mag-retaliate si, edi goodbye na rin kami,” he added.
At the 3:24 mark of the third frame, Flores and Mark Omega were both inside the paint jockeying for the rebound position. However, Omega fell, which resulted in a near-scuffle. Omega pushed Flores, thinking that Flores had slammed him to the floor.
Refs slapped Omega with a double foul, and he fouled out with left in the third period.
Up by five, 45-35, at the start of the third quarter, the Chiefs initiated a 15-6 run, capped by an Axel Doromal and-one to get 21-point cushion lead, 60-41, at the 5:57 mark of the third period.
Arellano ballooned its lead to 28 points, 73-45, off a Wilmar Oftana three-pointer with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth frame, 53-78, the Altas used a 16-4 run capped by an Egan layup to cut the lead by three, 69-82, at the 4:06 mark of the payoff period.
Shane Menina and Doromal both scored a game-high 25 and 20 points, respectively. The former got five rebounds, seven assists, and three steals; meanwhile, the latter shot 61.5-percent shooting from the floor, along with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Danielle Mallari also fouled out in the fourth quarter with 57-ticks left.
Flores finished with a double-double of 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and a steal.
On the other hand,, Barcuma and Carlo Ferreras led Perpetual both 16 points a price. Barcuma also contributed three boards, five assists, and two steals; Ferreras added eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Orgo scored 11 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, alongside two rebounds and two steals.
Next up for Arellano is College of St. Benilde on Sunday at 3:00 PM. Perpetual, on the other hand, will look to recover against the already-eliminated San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Friday at the same time.
The Scores:
Arellano 86 — Menina 25, Doromal 20, Flores 10, Abastillas 7, Talampas 6, Oftana 5, Mallari 4, Sunga 4, Oliva 3, Tolentino 2, Mantua 0, Domingo 0.
Perpetual 81 — Barcuma 16, Ferreras 16, Orgo 14, Razon 9, Egan 8, Boral 6, Abis 4, Omega 4, Flores 2, Cuevas 2, Roque 0, Movida 0, Nitura 0.
Quarterscores: 22-20, 44-35, 78-53, 86-81.
