Lions squirm past Altas; Pirates score

HAROLD Arboleda (top) of Perpetual tries to grab the ball from San Beda’s David Semerad. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Dragged into a tight endgame, San Beda simply refused to flinch.

The Red Lions survived a late assault from the Perpetual Help Altas with a thrilling 77-75 triumph yesterday and tightened their grip of top spot in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena.

The game between the two title contenders lived up to the hype with a tightly fought first half and it wasn’t until the final possession when the outcome was finally decided.

San Beda playmaker Baser Amer fired 17 points, including a split free throw with a minute remaining, but the Lions needed one solid defensive stand to preserve the victory.

Joel Jolangcob missed a potential game-winning triple at the buzzer just after the Lions denied Harold Arboleda a clear shot at the basket, enabling San Beda to pull off its seventh win in eight games.

The Altas dropped to a share of fourth spot with St. Benilde and Jose Rizal U.

Later, Lyceum checked a two-game slide with a 71-64 dumping of San Sebastian.

The Pirates closed out their first round campaign with a 5-4 record. The Stags fell to 3-5 after losing for the fourth straight game.

The scores:

First Game

SAN BEDA 77—Amer 17, A. Semerad  14, dela Cruz 12, Adeogun 11, Sara 7, Mendoza 6, Pascual 4, Tongco 4, D. Semerad 2, Koga 0, Abude 0.

PERPETUAL HELP 75—Baloria 21, Arboleda 17, Alano 16, Thompson 10, Dizon 4, Jolangcob 4, Danganon 3, Bantayan 0, Gallardo 0, Pido 0.

Quarters: 19-11, 39-38, 65-56, 77-75

Second Game

LYCEUM 71—Baltazar 18, Gabayni 14, Mbida 13, Lesmoras 10, Maconocido 5, Zamora 4, Taladua 3, Malabanan 2, Ko 2, Soliman 0, Bulawan 0, Elmejrab 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 64—Guinto 22, Perez 13, dela Cruz 6, Camasura 6, Pretta 6, Balucanag 4, Calisaan 2, Fabian 2, Yong 2, Aquino 1, Ortuoste 0, Costelo 0, Mercado 0.

Quarters: 12-18, 31-28, 56-42, 71-64