With both the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA and Emilio Aguinaldo College fighting to keep their Final Four dreams alive in the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament, the Altas barely slid past the Generals, 86-80, on Saturday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
The Altas entered the new NCAA Season as dark horse contenders, building off a successful preseason run. On the other side, the Generals surprised the NCAA landscape with their competitiveness throughout the season after finishing with just three wins in the prior season. As the two squads battled it out, only one could keep their underdog story alive, and it was Perpetual who prevailed.
“Ang pregame ko sa kanila babawi naman sa EAC kasi si EAC ‘yung first loss namin sa first round, eh, ‘yan ang nagstart ng mess sa amin eh. Bawian n’yo naman ako, palambing naman,” sabi ko sa players ko. “Trabahuin natin ng maigi, I just need this game against EAC,” at nag-respond naman ‘yung players namin,” shared head coach Myk Saguiguit.
Perpetual got out to a fiery start in the first half, going on a 10-0 run to open the game as their defense stifled EAC’s offense. The lead grew to as much as 26 in the third quarter, 55-29, after a triple from Jun Roque with 7:41 on the clock.
In the fourth quarter, though, the Altas were hit with a massive 13-0 run from the Generals, who refused to lose their tournament lives without a fight. EAC cut the lead down to as low as four, 76-72, with a pair of free throws from King Gurtiza.
That was as close as Perpetual allowed them to get, though, as team captain Jielo Razon stepped up in the last minute with a clutch triple and two pairs of free throws to ultimately seal the win, 86-80.
Razon shared that his looming departure from the team motivated him to play his heart out and keep his squad’s Final Four dreams alive.
“Last two games ko na sa elimination round kasi hindi ko na ito mababalikan as a last year eh. Kaya focus ko talaga is makagiveback sa Perpetual community, sa Tamayo family, at dinededicate ko sa kanila ‘yung remaining games ko kasi sobrang laking tulong na binigay nila sa katulad ko na binigyan nilang opportunity na makalaro sa NCAA,” said Razon.
Razon finished with 22 points on an efficient 63.6% shooting. Roque added 14 points and eight boards, while Christian Pagaran had 12 points and six rebounds.
Mark Omega did his damage in the rebounding department with four points and 11 rebounds.
The Altas climbed up to a 9-8 record, overtaking the Generals for the sixth spot in the standings. For a chance to make the Final Four, they need a win in their final game against San Sebastian College-Recoletos along with the hope that two of either College of Saint Benilde, San Beda University, and Jose Rizal University drop the rest of their matches.
Perpetual faces off against Baste on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
Jp Maguliano, fighting for his last chance to bring EAC to the Final Four, dropped 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists. King Gurtiza and Kyle Ochavo had 15 and 14 points respectively, while Ralph Robin had 10 of his own.
After an impressive first-round outing, the Generals flamed out of the Final Four picture with an 8-9 record, but they still have the power to impact it in their game versus College of Saint Benilde on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
