Knights stop Chiefs; Altas score
Defending champion Letran sized up Arellano U in the first three quarters then struck hard in the fourth to blast the pre-season favorites, 89-79, to gain solo third in the 92nd NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
Rey Nambatac fired 22 points while McJour Luib drilled in five triples for a 17-point output as the Knights rolled to their third straight win after bowing to the San Beda Lions in the league opener.
The Lions and the Mapua Cardinals pace the field with 3-0 marks.
The Chiefs, who posted the most impressive campaign during the pre-season, found their two-game run snap to drop to joint fourth with the Perpetual Help Altas.
Jio Jalalon continued to dish out superb games, shooting 17 points and dishing off 11 assists, but failed to help neutralize the Knights’ blistering fourth quarter run.
Earlier, the Altas shut down the San Sebastian Stags in the fourth quarter to pull off a 76-61 romp.
Bright Akhuetie came off the bench to shoot 20 points and haul down 20 rebounds, both gamehighs, to power the Altas to their second straight win after dropping a 78-83 defeat to the Arellano U Chiefs last June 26.
“I just found my rhythm early and I rode on it,” said the 19-yearold Akhuetie, who added two assists and a steal in his stats sheet.
The Altas clamped down on defense in the fourth and held the Stags to a seven-point output while pouring in 16 points of their own to post the 15-point victory that also avenged their pre-season defeat to the Recoletos-based school.
Perpetual Help coach Jimwell Gican also credited the win to their big men, who dominated both boards, 59-41.
“They beat us in the preseason because they beat us in rebounding,” said Gican. “That’s why we made a conscious effort to assert ourselves off the boards and I’m happy they responded.”
The Altas actually trailed by two, 19-21, after 10 minutes but took charge at the resumption with Akhuetie sparking a second quarter run that saw Perpetual Help grab a 44-37 lead at halftime.
The Stags kept the game close in the third, even pulling to within, 54-60, heading to the fourth but Akhuetie dropped an eight-point binge in the final quarter and also presided over in defense to stymie the Stags’ offense.
Daryl Singontiko and Genmar Ilagan scattered 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Keith Pido added eight points, nine caroms and six assists for the Altas.
Rookie Regille Ilagan exploded with a career-best 27 points, including six triples, for the Stags, who fell to 1-2.