Arellano defeats St. Benilde, snaps five-game skid

MANILA, Philippines–Arellano checked a demoralizing five-game tailspin as it busted College of St. Benilde, 64-60, Friday in the second game of the 87^th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Arena in San Juan.

Spindly forward Andrian Celada, whose performance has been dipping as of late, rose to the occasion of pacing his squad to its only second victory with six setbacks as he notched 15 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Celada, former mythical five awardee, drilled in two crucial free throws with 8.6 seconds remaining which gave the Chiefs a needed four-point separation from the gutsy Blazers before the time ran out.

Rocky Acidre and Jerald Lapuz kicked in 12 and 11 markers, respectively, as they spearheaded an early fourth period blast which pushed Arellano’s advantage to double digits midway in the quarter.

Defensive stops one after the other aided the Chiefs to a 57-46 lead with five minutes to play, as the Blazers’ main man Carlo Lastimosa committed several turnovers in that stretch for a measly four-point production.

But an eight-point swing on back-to-back treys by young guns Mark Romero and Paolo Taha, plus two freebies by Jonathan Grey with three minutes remaining, shifted the momentum to the Blazers, 57-54.

Both teams traded baskets in the ensuing possessions, but it was capped by a sly baseline cut by Grey that trimmed the lead for CSB, 60-62, right before Celada’s free throws.

Taha, an up-and-coming rookie for the Blazers, posted a game-best 21 points while Grey and Romero added 11 and seven points, in that order.

CSB, who dropped its fifth assignment, never got the taste of the lead even as it successfully picked up the pace following an atrocious first quarter.

The Chiefs jumped to a 14-0 lead until Anton Altamirano finally ended the onslaught for the Blazers with a basket.