Needing a hero to stop Jed Mendoza’s late-game heater, Kent Salado knocked down a cold-blooded one-hander with .3 seconds left to lift the Arellano University Chiefs past the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers in overtime, 73-72, Tuesday evening at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“Siyempre we are so happy, we don’t know how to describe it. Grabe yung game!” shared Arellano head coach Jerry Codinera. “This is the only way that we can build trust with one another.”
Salado’s cold-blooded shot gave Arellano a 2-1 slate while dropping JRU to 1-2.
Salado was called for a foul with 4.0 ticks left that resulted to a split for Jed Mendoza that gave JRU a 72-71 lead. After a timeout, Salado took the ball from the elbow before knocking down a floater over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-8 Abdoul Poutouochi for the game-winner.
“We weren’t able to execute well but we trusted Salado, he was able to knock down a big shot,” Condinera said.
“Gusto kong kunin talaga yun. Sinabi rin nung nag-inbound na sa akin talaga yun,” added Salado, who finished the game with 25 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals.
And he needed to make that shot to make up for his misses from the charity stripe that helped JRU send the game into added time.
“Nagsisi ako na hindi ko pa nashoot pero nabawi ko naman,” said Salado.
Arellano was ahead 63-56 with 1:18 left but a split on the stripe by Ervin Grospe and a tip-in by Abdulwahab Abdulrazak with 11.1 seconds left cut the lead down to just three with 11.1 seconds left. Salado, a native of Cagayan de Oro City, could have sealed the game after being fouled with 9.8 seconds on the clock but missed both of his attempts. This led to a Jed Mendoza triple with .2 left in regulation to send the game into extra time.
Behind Zach Nicholls, who knocked down back-to-back triples, Arellano was able to gain a 69-66 lead with 2:13 left. Mendoza though was able to answer right back before Salado and Mendoza exchanged buckets. Arelano though was called for a 24 second shotclock violaton.
Nicholls added 13 points for Arellano while Lervin Flores gobbled up 15 huge rebounds.
The backcourt of MJ Dela Virgen and Teytey Teodoro scored 15 points each but the two combined to shoot just 11-for-29 from the field. Poutouochi finished with a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Arellano will next face the surging Lyceum Pirates on Tuesday, July 25 at 2:00pm. JRU, on the other hand, faces the Letran Knights on Friday, July 21 at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
AU (73) – Salado 25, Nicholls 13, Flores 7, Enriquez 6, Canete 6, Meca 4, Villoria 4, Ongolo Ongolo 4, Alcoriza 4, Dela Cruz 0, Rivera 0, Padilla 0, Concepcion 0, Abanes 0.
JRU (72) – Dela Virgen 15, Teodoro 15, Poutouochi 11, Grospe 10, Mendoza 9, Abdul Razak 4, Lasquety 3, David 2, Castor 2, Bordon 1.
Quarterscores: 15-17, 28-35, 44-48, 62-62, 73-72 (OT)
