By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Games Saturday
(FilOil EcoOil Centre)
11 a.m. – Perpetual vs San Beda
2:30 p.m. – Letran vs Lyceum
A week after slaying defending champion San Beda, Arellano caught a bigger fish in league-leading College of St. Benilde with a hard-earned 73-71 victory on Friday, Oct. 4, in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Putting behind a 77-71 loss to the Mapua Cardinals two days back, the Chiefs were the ones who played with a sense of urgency, coming through with crucial baskets when they needed them most to nail their third win against six defeats.
Jeadan Ongotan carried the fight for Arellano with 16 points and four rebounds while Ernest Geronimo also stepped up especially when it mattered most, firing 14 points including a crucial jumper that gave them enough separation, 73-69, with 29.6 seconds to go.
St. Benilde had the chance to grab the victory after Jhomel Ancheta canned a huge basket of his own and Arellano bungled its next possession.
To the horror of CSB supporters, Justine Sanchez missed a buzzer-beating jumper.
It was a morale-boosting triumph for the Chiefs who suffered several heart-breakings defeats.
This time, though, Arellano coach Chico Manabat and his stalwarts made sure they would emerge victorious.
Manabat had nothing but praises for his hardworking players.
“Wala akong masabi sa mga batang to. Mga may pusong palaban talaga sila,” said Manabat.
“Basta yung preparation namin, very hard. Gusto naming manalo siyempre at inisip lang namin, nothing to lose kami and everything to gain,” he added.
Arellano, indeed, had to dig deep to overcome St. Benilde as it fought through five deadlocks and nine lead changes.
The Chiefs also took advantage of the Blazers’ erratic plays, where they managed 31 points off St. Benilde’s 24 turnovers despite getting outrebounded, 50-30
St. Benilde, who played without ailing main man Winston Ynot, turned to Allen Liwag, Gab Cometa and Sanchez but the trio’s efforts went futile.
Liwag, as expected, had a double-double performance of 18 points and 17 rebounds, while Cometa and Sanchez scored 15 and 10 points in a losing cause for the Blazers, who slipped to 6-2 for a share of the lead with the Mapua Cardinals.
Meantime, Jose Rizal University relied on Joshua Guiab’s heroics and turned back Emilio Aguinaldo College, 75-63, to improve to 3-5, the same record of their victims.
The scores:
First Game
ARELLANO 73 – Ongotan 16, Geronimo 14 Abiera 10, Capulong 8, Valencia 8, Vinoya 7, Hernal 5, Libang 4, Borromeo 1, Dela Cruz 0, Camay 0.
BENILDE 71 – Liwag 18, Cometa 15, Sanchez 10, Torres 9, Oli 7, Ondoa 3, Morales 3, Ancheta 2, Cajucom 2, Turco 2, Sangco 0, Eusebio 0.
Quarters: 23-11; 40-39; 56-58; 73-71.
Second Game
JRU 75- Guiab 19, Bernardo 13, Argente 12, Raymundo 8, Benitez 8, De Leon 5, Garcia 5, Ferrer 3, Barrera 2, Samontanes 0, Pangilinan 0, Panapanaan 0, Mosqueda 0, Sarmiento 0, De Jesus 0
EAC 63– Gurtiza 15, Bagay 12, Oftana 7, Lucero 6, Pagsanjan 5, Doromal 4, Luciano 4, Ochavo 4, Quinal 4, Loristo 2, Jacob 0, Umpad 0, Postanes 0, Manacho 0, Angeles 0
Quarters: 16-15; 36-32; 50-49; 75-63
