Altas nose out Chiefs, tie Lions

It was Harold Arboleda’s turn to shine for Perpetual Help last night.

Arboleda knocked in two pressure-packed free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining as the Altas nipped the Arellano Chiefs, 82-80, and tied the idle defending champion San Beda Red Lions for second place in the 89th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Arellano actually had a chance to forge overtime with 1.8 seconds left, but AJ Serjue missed the front end of his two foul shots. He intentionally missed his second free throw hoping to turn the rebound into a followup basket, but the ball went out of bounds.

Arboleda was fouled by Ralph Salcedo while going for an offensive rebound, then nailed both attempts as the Altas rose to 8-2 like San Beda.

Arellano lost for the sixth time in its last seven games and fell into a share of eighth spot with Lyceum with a 3-7 card.

St. Benilde also hacked out a close 57-55 decision over Jose Rizal in the second game and improved to 4-6. The Bombers took their fifth loss in 10 games.

Playing in the shadows of more explosive teammates like Nosa Omorogbe and Juneric Baloria, Arboleda proved his worth for the Altas by norming 12.4 rebounds an outing in the first round.

“I’m so happy for him (Arboleda) because he’s done almost everything for us and now he’s also helped us with his offense,” said Omorogbe, who topscored for the Altas with 26 points and also grabbed 12 boards.

The game was close throughout with no team leading by more than eight points and both teams battling to eight lead changes.

“We need these close games because we learn a lot from them,” said Altas coach Aric Del Rosario. “We know we’re going to need the experience when we go farther in the tournament.”

The Altas also got a lift from Scott Thompson who bucked a hurting back to tally 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Keith Agovida poured 15 of his season-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Chiefs, who missed forward James Forrester.

The scores:

First Game

PERPETUAL HELP 82—Omorogbe 26, Baloria 14, Thompson 11, Arboleda 9, Alano 9, Jolangcob 6m Elopre 3, Dizon 2, Bitoy 2, Oliveria 0, Ylagan 0, Bantayan 0, Lucente 0.

ARELLANO 80—Agovida 17, Hernandez 16, Caperal 14, Pinto 12, Nicholls 5, Salcedo 4, Bangga 4, Serjue 4, Jalalon 3, Gumaru 1, Cadavis 0.

Quarters: 21-19, 40-39, 59-53, 82-80

Second Game

ST. BENILDE 57—Romero 15, Bartolo 8, Garcia 8, Grey 8, Taha 7, Argamino 6, Sinco 2, Deles 2, Ongteco 1.

JRU 55—Paniamogan 19, Mabulac 11, Balagtas 8, Lasquety 6, Grospe 5, Benavides 4, Sanchez 2, Pontejos 0, Juanico 0, Dela Paz 0, Diego 0.

Quarters: 8-13, 23-27, 41-41, 57-55