ARELLANO’S Jiovani Jalalon (left) draws a blocking foul from Bernabe Teodoro of JRU in yesterday’s game at Filoil Flying V Arena. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
DRAGGED into another tight endgame, Arellano U rose to the challenge this time, repulsing Jose Rizal U, 75-69, last night to seize solo second spot in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Chiefs took the Heavy Bombers out of their comfort zone at crunchtime as they avenged their triple overtime loss in the first round while checking a two-game skid.
The victory also lifted Arellano to No. 2 after improving to 10-4, a game and a half behind leader San Beda, while the Bombers fell to a tie for third with the St. Benilde Blazers at 9-5.
Known more for their offense this season, the Chiefs, who moved two wins away from securing at least a playoff for a Final Four berth, pulled through behind a swarming defense that shut out the Bombers in the last 3:20 of the game.
Dioncee Holts fired 22 points, including eight in the final period, and grabbed 13 rebounds. Playing limited minutes as coach Jerry Codiñera tinkered with his rotation, John Pinto still made an impact with a triple that restored the Chiefs’ four-point cushion, 73-69, with 2:50 left after Philip Paniamogan’s trey had cut the deficit, 69-70.
“We really didn’t mind our points and we had to sacrifice especially on defense,” said Codiñera.
The Chiefs grabbed a couple of crucial offensive rebounds in the final minute to preserve the victory.
Paniamogan shot 20 points, but accounted for eight of the Bombers’ 24 turnovers which Arellano translated to 18 points.
Struggling for most of the season, Prince Caperal delivered 10 points and four rebounds.
“We fought really hard and I’m proud of how everyone played,” said Holts.
“This was our most important game so far, so we had to step up,” said Caperal.
Earlier, Lyceum, drawing a career game from Jebb Bulawan, snapped a four-game slide with a 91-75 rout of Emilio Aguinaldo College.
Bulawan came away with 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Pirates improved to 6-8, keeping their slim hopes of reaching the Final Four alive.
“We know it’s already a long shot but we want to make our own destiny,” said Lyceum coach Bonnie Tan. “If we don’t make the Final Four, at least we’ll try to improve on our record (8-10) from last season.”
The Pirates sustained their big start, outscoring the Generals, 53-42, in the second half on their way to their first win of the second round.
Dexter Zamora and Joseph Gabayni contributed 16 points each while Tirso Lesmoras, in a rare start, picked up 14 points for the Pirates, who face the San Beda Red Lions next.
The Generals’ miserable spell continued as they joined San Sebastian at 3-11 after losing for the eighth time in the last nine games.
The scores:
First Game
LYCEUM 91—Bulawan 20, Gabayni 16, Zamora 16, Lesmoras 14, Taladua 10, Mbida 9, Baltazar 5, Malabanan 1, Elmejrab 0, Maconocido 0, Soliman 0.
EAC 75—Tayongtong 24, Onwubere 16, Arquero 14, Jamon 11, General 7, Serrano 3, Mejos 0, Santos 0, Saludo 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 38-33, 65-59, 91-75
Second Gams
ARELLANO 75—Holts 22, Caperal 10, Hernandez 7, Enriquez 7, Jalalon 6, Pinto 6, Ortega 5, Bangga 4, Gumaru 2, Nicholls 2, Ciriacruz 2, Agovida 2.
JRU 69—Paniamogan 20, Asuncion 14, Teodoro 13, Abdul Wahab 7, Sanchez 7, Balagtas 4, Mabulac 4, Lasquety 0, Salaveria 0, Miunez 0, Grospe 0, Benavides 0
Quarters: 20-16, 39-35, 56-51, 75-69