RALPH Salcedo of Arellano U looks for an open man as Freddy Pajarillaga of St. Benilde defends. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
It was John Pinto’s turn to play hero for the Arellano Chiefs.
Pinto grabbed the offensive rebound off a Dioncee Holts missed free throw and banked in the game-winning shot as time expired, lifting the Chiefs to a 67-66 triumph over the St. Benilde Blazers last night in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament.
Outshone by his vastly improved teammate Jiovani Jalalon all season long, the stocky guard once again reminded everyone of his strength and poise with the game-defining play that sent the Arellano faithful at Filoil Flying V Arena into delirium.
The win capped an impressive first round for the Chiefs who remained second with a 7-2 record. The loss snapped a four-game winning run for the Blazers who fell to sixth spot with a 4-4 card.
Jose Rizal U earlier notched a dramatic 81-79 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College to climb to third spot with a 5-3 record.
Philip Paniamogan and Jaycee Asuncion combined for 33 points, but it was Bernabe Teodoro who sparked a third quarter burst that gave the Bombers enough cushion to hold off a late run by the Generals, who fell to 2-6.
Holts was the hero in the 63-62 win over Letran with a game-saving block on Ford Ruaya. But the American rookie missed the second of two free throws with 3.1 seconds remaining, before Pinto came out of nowhere to pluck the rebound and bail out the Chiefs.
“What can I say, he made the biggest play of the game,” said Arellano U coach Jerry Codiñera referring to the Davao-born Pinto, one of the PBA draft aspirants.
Teodoro finished with 14 points, including two treys in a 15-0 run that turned a 48-51 deficit into a 63-51 cushion. The Generals, starring John Tayongtong and Noube Happi, rallied in the final period. But Tayongtong missed a triple at the buzzer to doom EAC.
The scores:
First Game
JRU 81—Paniamogan 18, Asuncion 15, Teodoro 14, Sanchez 11, Mabulac 8, Grospe 6, Abdul Wahab 4, Benavides 3, Salaveria 2
EAC 79—Tayongtong 21, Happi 12, Arquero 12, Onwubere 11, Aguilar 10, Serrano 5, Santos 4, Jamon 4, Pascual 0
Quarters: 18-24, 38-44, 66-56, 81-79
Second Game
ARELLANO U 67—Pinto 19, Jalalon 12, Agovida 8, Holts 7, Salcedo 6, Bangga 4, Gumaru 3, Ciriacruz 2, Palma 2, Caperal 2, Enriquez 2, Nicholls 0, Hernandez 0, Ortega 0, Cadavis 0
ST BENILDE 66—Romero 21, Taha 16, Grey 13, Saavedra 7, Pajarillaga 4, Sinco 4, Bartolo 1, Jonson 0, Nayve 0, Argamino 0, Ongteco 0, Altamirano 0
Quarters: 15-8, 30-26, 47-46, 67-66