Photo from Filoil Flying V Sports Facebook
MANILA, Philippines—Not even an unbelievable fourth quarter performance was enough to send Perpetual Help to the quarterfinals of the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup.
Knocking down triples from the toughest angles, the Altas outscored UAAP champion La Salle, 41-22, in the fourth quarter to claw their way back from a double-digit lead enroute to a scintillating 98-95 win over the Archers on Saturday.
But the victory wasn’t enough as Perpetual Help needed to win by five points or more to boot out the Green Archers and claim a spot in the playoffs.
“We really wanted to play in the quarterfinals,” rued Early Thompson, who flirted with a triple double with 14 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists. “But at least we were able to show that we can compete against La Salle.”
The Altas’ fightback from 16 points at the end of the third quarter, which featured seven triples from either Harold Arboleda or Juneric Baloria, moved veteran coach Aric Del Rosario to tears.
“Everybody said we can’t win against La Salle, but we did [that’s why I got teary eyed]. The heart of the players were there,” said Del Rosario. “It’s bittersweet.”
The Altas wiped away the Green Archers’ 73-57 lead with Baloria nailing four triples in a three-minute span that also included baskets from Thompson that put them within just two points.
Arboleda also caught fire in the final five minutes, starting off with a right corner triple then ending with two freethrows that gave Perpetual Help a 98-90 lead with 8.5 seconds left.
Baloria had a whopping 43-point explosion in 34 minutes while Arboleda had 12 points and eight rebounds for Perpetual Help, which opens its campaign in the NCAA on June 28.
“We know how strong La Salle is. Coach told us that we needed to win against them. At least we were able to defeat them after they eliminated us in the PCCL.”
La Salle’s big man Arnold Van Opstal managed to nail two crucial freebies with 3.8 ticks remaining that salvaged the Green Archers’ pre-season campaign.
Teng and Van Opstal finished with 20 points apiece for La Salle, who dropped to seventh in the quarterfinals and will face no. 2 seed Far Eastern University.
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