Arellano looks to book 2nd win on home court
WINNERS in their Season 93 debut on opening day, the Arellano Chiefs go for a second straight win today on their home turf against the San Sebastian Stags as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) goes “on tour.”
To be played at the Arellano Gym in Legarda, Manila, at 4 p.m., the Chiefs look to follow up on their 91-82 win over the Mapua Cardinals on Day 1 of Season 93 with a win over the Stags, a team out to bounce back after losing in its season debut.
In booking its first victory in the brand-new season of the country’s longest- standing collegiate league, Arellano was towed by the efforts of guard Kent Salado, who scored a game-high 24 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
He was ably backed by Michael Canete, who had a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The Chiefs used a strong second half to pull off the win after being held down for much of the opening 20 minutes.
“The win is sweet as the jitters were evident in the players, this being our first game of the season. They felt the pressure but I’m happy they were able to rise up against it and pull off the win,” said Arellano coach Jerry Codiñera of their debut win.
Meanwhile, looking to spoil Arellano’s party at home today is San Sebastian, this year’s tournament host.
The Stags gallantly fought against the defending cham- pions San Beda Red Lions on opening day last Saturday but faltered in the end to bow down, 76- 67.
Michael Calisaan was the top scorer for San Sebastian with 13 points while Lorenzo Navarro, a transferee from La Salle, had a solid debut of 12 points, seven assists and three steals.
“Our mind-set for this season is to work our way back to the glory days of San Sebastian basketball. We will always be underdogs since we are not parading any foreign players but the boys want to win and that’s a start,” said Stags coach Egay Macaraya in the lead-up to the tournament.
The “NCAA on Tour” game today marks the second time that league is holding one early in the season following that of last Sunday held at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran featuring Juniors games between San Sebastian and San Beda and Mapua versus Arellano.
One of the notable changes this season, the NCAA on Tour will see the league hold games in the premises of member schools. The NCAA said the reason behind it is to bring the league closer to its various stakeholders, particularly the students, and to further enhance interest in the league among them.
In holding the games on the road, the NCAA said it has made sure that the venues are at par with tournament standards and security is beefed up to guard the safety of the participants and spectators.