Altas disarm Knights, join Bombers at helm
Perpetual Help once again played tough throughout and stunned powerhouse Letran, 69-66, for a second straight win in the 88th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan last night.
Earl Thompson, Joel Jolangcob and Jet Vidal provided the firepower as the Altas stoked the fire of their winning debut over the Lyceum Pirates and shared the early tournament lead with the Jose Rizal Heavy Bombers.
The Altas got to a 2-0 start in the tourney under new coach Aric del Rosario.
“I don’t read coaching books anymore so I’m outmoded. But I used my experience, making it simple for the boys, and I’m glad it’s paying off,” said Del Rosario, a four-peat champion coach with UST in the UAAP nearly a decade ago.
Del Rosario and his troops handed Letran a loss after a winning debut versus San Sebastian.
San Sebastian overcame another so-so start with a big second half charge then survived St. Benilde’s three-point barrage, hacking out a 95-93 victory earlier in the day.
Reigning MVP Calvin Abueva barreled his way to 23 points and grabbed a season-high 23 rebounds to help propel the Stags to their first win after dropping a stinging 74-80 setback to the Letran Knights in last week’s opener.
Ronald Pascual and Ian Sangalang provided added firepower, scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively, and came through with a pair of defensive stoppages at endgame to preserve the victory for the Stags.
“Whether it’s a blowout or a two-point victory, we don’t care as long as we win,” said San Sebastian coach Topex Robinson. “I have to give credit to my Big Three, who carried us through in this game.”
SSC also neutralized St. Benilde’s spectacular shooting from beyond the arc where the Blazers connected on a season-best 13 triples.
Abueva’s total rebounds was the biggest in the league since Sangalang plucked 25 caroms last season. It also matched his career-best effort in that department in Game One of the 2009 season when the Stags went on to sweep the San Beda Lions.
Pascual also bounced back strong from a scoreless effort in 22 minutes in his first game after returning from a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) he sustained late last year as he came off the bench to fire five triples.
“I was telling everyone I committed a mistake for prematurely starting Ronald because he isn’t really fully recovered from his ACL injury,” said Robinson. “I stuck to him though but he told me he wouldn’t mind coming off the bench so I also have to give credit to him.” The Stags, however, nearly blew it again. After starting out slow, San Sebastian turned on the heat as the Stags forced the issue inside, grabbing a 73-69 lead at the end of the third quarter after playing catch-up in the first half.
The Stags led by as many as 11 points, 85-74, with less then seven minutes to go before the Blazers went on a torrid shooting binge sparked by a pair of triples by Mark Romero and capped by another by transferee Joel Tolentino that tied the count at 91 with a little over two minutes left in the contest.
But Abueva and Sangalang took over and hit back-to-back baskets for a four-point cushion before Carlo Lastimosa trimmed to just two with a basket with 17.4 seconds remaining. The scores: First Game (srs) San Sebastian 95 – Abueva 23, Pascual 20, Sangalang 19, dela Cruz 16, Antipuesto 8, Rebullos 5, Juico 4, Vitug 0, Miranda 0, Maiquez 0
St. Benilde 93 – Tolentino 20, Lastimosa 19, Taha 17, Romero 14, Sinco 10, Tan 5, Bartolo 2, Maconocido 2, Grey 2, Ongteco 2, Deles 0, Dela Paz 0 Quarterscores: 22-27; 46-53; 73-69; 95-93 Second Game (srs) Perpetual 69 – Thompson 14, Jolangcob 11, Vidal 9, Allen 7, Babayemi 6, Paulino 6, Omorogbe 4, Alano 4, Elopre 4
Letran 66 – Ke. Alas 15, Cortes 14, Cruz 9, Belorio 9, Almazan 6, Lituania 5, Racal 4, Gabawan 3, Luib 1, Kr. Alas 0
Quarterscores: 15-18; 31-34; 51-50; 69-66