University of Perpetual Help System DALTA took down the defending champions Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 94-88, to book their first Final Four ticket since 2010 at the NCAA Season 99 Juniors Basketball Tournament on Friday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
With today’s results, the Final Four lineup is officially locked in with Perpetual, Letran, San Sebastian, and Mapua each clinching their berths to the semifinals.
The Junior Altas managed to keep the Squires at bay despite a fourth-quarter comeback bid, as they secured their first semis appearance in nearly 14 years.
“I think of every game as our last, ‘di ko nga alam kung ano standing namin ngayon basta focus lang ako sa next games,” Perpetual head coach Joph Cleopas said.
Coming off a triple-double performance the last time out, Amiel Acido delivered another stellar performance with 27 points off 66-percent shooting while Mark Gojo Cruz chipped in 17 markers and eight rebounds.
Letran could not pull through despite Jonathan Manalili and Jovel Baliling dropping 21 points each.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian College forced a three-way tie for second as they stunned Mapua University in overtime, 90-84.
The Red Robins came back from down 16 at the start of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Staglets 34-18 behind Lawrence Mangubat and Sean Salvador who each dropped 21 points apiece.
However, San Sebastian’s defensive gambits limited Mapua to just one point in overtime as they improved to 6-2 to tie both the Red Robins and the Squires.
Kit Bonus paced the Staglets with 28 points off a 70-percent shooting clip while Rion Porcadas notched 16 markers and six caroms.
Keeping in line with the day’s tight contests, both Jose Rizal University and Emilio Aguinaldo College nipped San Beda-Rizal (82-79) and Arellano University (92-87), respectively.
EAC leaned on EJ Castillo’s massive 30 points and eight rebounds while Alfred Asay posted a double-double of 18 markers and 11 boards to put away the struggling Braves.
On the other hand, Lee Marin led JRU with 18 points and four rebounds as the Light Bombers officially snapped San Beda’s 12 consecutive years in the Final Four.
Until their elimination with today’s result, the Red Cubs held the record for the longest active streak of semifinal appearances.
Capping off the penultimate day of eliminations, La Salle Green Hills snatched the game from Lyceum of the Philippines University in dramatic fashion at the buzzer, 85-84.
Down by two with three seconds remaining, Dale Ortega knocked down an incredible halfcourt game-winner to bag LSGH’s third win of the season.
James Ison led all scorers with 25 points while Guillian Quines copped 15 markers for the Greenies.
The Scores:
First Game
JRU 82 – Marin 18, Rivera 14, Enal 13, Pineda 11, Abequibel 8, Natividad 6, Guarino 5, Capistrano 3, Rico 2, Taparan 2, Ferrer 0, Pinzon 0, Castillo 0
San Beda 79 – Lorenzo 20, Canete 19, Ugaddan 10, Batong Bakal 9, Vailoces 7, Dollente 5, Sollano 5, Mercado 2, Mondigo 2, Wagan 0, Medroso 0, San Juan 0, Feliciano 0
Quarterscores: 23-13; 42-36; 59-57; 82-79
Second Game
Perpetual 94 – Acido 27, Gojo Cruz 17, Pagulayan 14, Daep 11, Diaz 6, Baldoria 5, Borja 4, Ayon 3, Valencia 3, Callangan 2, Roluna 2, Cristino 0
Letran 88 – Manalili 21, Baliling 21, Navarro 19, Padilla 15, Diamante 6, Cruz 2, Silorio 2, De Leon 2, Hugo 0, Villanueva 0, Gazzingan 0, Reyes 0, Golez 0
Quarterscores: 19-22; 49-37; 78-64; 94-88
Third Game
EAC 92 – Castillo 30, Asay 18, Jawali 9, Coronel 9, Mariquit 8, Campana 5, Bautista 4, Razo 4, Luna 2, Lumbo 2, Iraham 2, Tecson 0, Canonigo 0
Arellano 87 – Reguera 25, Espinosa 16, Yu 12, Franco 9, Javier 6, Mendoza 6, Montesclaros 4, Distrito 4, Austria 3, Pascual 2, Pangilinan 0, Vergara 0, Llantos 0, Novillo 0, Tanudtanod 0
Quarterscores: 24-15; 46-43; 68-68; 92-87
Fourth Game
San Sebastian 90 – Bonus 28, Porcadas 16, Jimenez 10, Penaverde 7, Bautista 7, Herrera 7, Danag 6, Melano 5, Marasigan 2, Hadji Casan 2, Apostol 0, Rodriguez 0
Mapua 84 – Mangubat 21, Salvador 21, Masiglat 10, Valina 10, Mulingtapang 8, Palis 4, Mananquil 4, Go 4, Rodriguez 2, Duque 0, Gragasin 0, Malaga 0
Quarterscores: 21-14; 47-34; 65-49; 83-83; Overtime: 7-1
Fifth Game
LSGH 85 – Ison 25, Quines 15, Ortega 8, Sharma 8, Gomez 5, Abad 4, Podador 4, Muyuela 3, Pagalilauan 3, Hizon 3, Romero 2, Natividad 2, Tud 2, Nonoy 1, Peralta 0
LPU 84 – Timbol 21, Matienzo 18, Panerio 13, Sayaman 12, Dag-um 8, Melchor 6, Turno 2, Lobos 2, Mulligan 2, Parinas 0, Lingoste 0, Dajao 0, Poli 0, Julio 0
Quarterscores: 24-21; 51-42; 67-60; 85-84
