Chiefs fan Final Four ambition

Games Today (The Arena, San Juan City) 8 a.m. – Malayan vs SSCR (Jrs) 10 a.m. – San Beda vs Letran (Jrs) 12 noon – Mapua vs SSCR (Srs) 2 p.m. – San Beda vs Letran (Srs) 4 p.m. – JRU vs Lyceum (Srs) 6 p.m. – JRU vs Lyceum (Jrs)

Arellano bucked the absence of injured star Kent Salado to beat University of Perpetual Help, 62-52, yesterday to remain in the hunt for the last Final Four berth in the 93rd NCAA men’s basketball at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Chiefs leaned on a scoring binge bridging the second and third quarters to break away from the Altas and extend their winning run to three games with an 8-9 record, half-game behind the fourth place Letran Knights (8-8).

It also gave Arellano a half-game lead over San Sebastian for fifth place in the standings.

Letran meet San Beda while San Sebastian, with a 7-9 card, takes on Mapua in today’s tripleheader.

College of St. Benilde ended Emilio Aguinaldo College’s bid for a first-ever Final Four berth after claiming a 94-84 overtime victory in the second game. EAC was eliminated after falling to 6-11.

Lervin Flores and Rence Alcoriza scored 19 and 16 points, respectively, while combining for 15 rebounds to help the Chiefs make up for the loss of Salado, who suffered a season-ending medial collateral ligatment (MCL) injury on his knee in Tuesday’s win over San Sebastian.

Trailing 23-22 late in the second period, Arellano scoring 15 straight points to break the game open.

A layup by AJ Coronel ended Altas drought, but the Chiefs responded with a 7-0 run to widen the gap, 39-25.