MANILA, Philippines—Arellano head coach Koy Banal knew the Chiefs would make a statement if they beat perennial NCAA champion San Beda.
The Chiefs won but Banal was hardly satisfied after a 67-66 win Wednesday in the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the Arena in San Juan.
“Ang motivation namin going into the game was for us to make a statement. This is a statement game for us. Whatever happens, I believe this will dictate what will happen for us in the coming season,” said Banal, whose team closed in on a quarterfinals spot.
“The sad part here was that we won just by one. Kung titingnan natin, tsamba lang (If we look at it, it’s pure luck).”
Nonetheless, Arellano still showed it’s a team to reckon with in the coming NCAA Season with a gutsy win led by point guard John Pinto.
Pinto scored 17 points, most of which came in the fourth quarter, and had seven rebounds and three assists for the Chiefs, who moved into second place in Group A standings with a 5-2 record as the Red Lions dropped into third place at 3-2.
“Priority ko teammates ko bago yung scoring. Ako na kasi yung tinitingnan ng mga teams (My priority are my teammates before scoring. I am the one the teams are looking up to),” said the 22-year-old Pinto.
But down the stretch, Pinto took matters into his own hands.
Pinto scored nine of his team’s 11 points including a step back jumper over Baser Amer that made it 67-64 with exactly a minute left.
James Forrester added 11 points but missed two free throws in the final 5.4 seconds. Fortunately for Arellano, San Beda wasn’t even able to put up a shot before time ran out.
Rome dela Rosa paced San Beda with 14 points and eight rebounds.