Going into the Arellano-Lyceum tilt, all eyes were on the marquee match-up pitting Kent Salado against CJ Perez, two early MVP contenders in the 93rd season of the NCAA.
But the Chiefs did not expect the wave that Lyceum brought.
“Nagulat kaming lahat. Hindi naman ganun ka-laki yung Lyceum e. Sobrang hustle lang sila talaga, kaya ayun, andami namin turnover, puro pasa sa labas,” recalled Salado after Arellano was embarrassed 65-99.
The Chiefs were outplayed at all fronts, being out-rebounded 37-51 and were forced to commit 27 turnovers that led to 26 points. Moreover, though, Perez was able to get his numbers, it was the Marcelino twins that made an imprint in the game.
The Subic-based twins, Jayvee and Jaycee, took turns in stifling the 5-foot-9 guard, who shot just 5-for-15 from the field for 11 points and four turnovers — down from his 21.3 point average on 52.1 percent shooting in their first three games.
“Nagulat nga kami. Sa first quarter pa lang, yung Perez na-stop namin. Two points lang siya. Pero yung pumatay samin dun yung mga Marcelino e,” the 22-year old added as the twins combined for 21 points. “Wala sa scouting report namin yun kasi si Perez naman talaga yung focus namin.
“Ano sila e, parang tandem na tandem e. Kung san ako pupunta, nandun sila. Sinasabay sila e, ‘pag pasok nung isa, parang palitan. Hindi ko nga alam kung sino bumabantay sakin sa kanilang dalawa. Magaling yung dalawa, magaling dumepensa.
Moreover, with him locked down, Salado was hoping that his teammates had stepped up for him but the Chiefs did not heed his call.
“Siguro masasabi ko lang, kulang lang talaga sa teammates ko. Yung [Lervin] Flores, parang inconsistent pa. Ayun lang masasabi ko,” added the Cagayan de Oro-native, as Zach Nicholls was the Chiefs’ leading scorer in the game at 12 points, while Flores was limited to just three points and five rebounds.
“Hindi ko naman kaya mag-isa e, papasa ko naman sa kanila e.”
Still, Salado believes that the Chiefs can adjust as the season progresses.
