Altas shuffle Cards, seize NCAA lead; Blazers score

Gab Dagangon delivered the telling blows down the stretch as Perpetual Help hacked out an 82-79 victory over Mapua Tuesday to seize top spot in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

Tipped as a title contender this season, the Altas survived their toughest test yet with the Makilala, North Cotabato-born Dagangon firing four points in the last 30 seconds to cap a hot Perpetual rally from seven points down in the last six minutes.

Earlier, St. Benilde drew strong performances from Jonathan Grey and Travis Jonson to overcome Emilio Aguinaldo College, 73-66, for its first win.

PERPETUAL Help slotman Bright Akhuetie puts up a shot over Mapua counterpart Allwell Oraeme. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

The Blazers held the Generals to just seven points in the first quarter, then pulled through as Grey and Jonson delivered in the last period. Grey and Jonson finished with season-highs of 19 and 18 points, respectively.

The Altas moved past idle San Beda and Letran at 3-0 while Mapua dropped to 1-2, just like the Blazers. EAC fell to 0-2.

“We were playing catchup the whole game, but the players showed how bad they wanted to win this game in the last two minutes,” said Altas coach Aric del Rosario in Filipino.

Struggling with his offense in the first three quarters, reigning MVP Scott Thompson played decoy at crunchtime, finding Dagangon inside for the go-ahead basket, 80-79. It was his 10th assist on top of nine points and 12 rebounds.

Dagangon scored on a fastbreak layup with seven seconds remaining after Mapua’s attack broke down inside the paint, before Josan Nimes missed a desperation triple at the buzzer.

Nigerian center Bright Akhuetie followed up his 44-point explosion with 24 points this time, including 10 in the final period for the Altas who trailed, 64-71, after a Nimes layup with six minutes left.

The scores:

First Game

ST. BENILDE 73—Grey 19, Jonson 18, Saavedra 14, Ongteco 6, Fajarito 6, Sta. Maria 4, Nayve 3, Castor 3, JJ Domingo 0, JS Domingo 0.

EAC 66—Mejos 17, Onwubere 14, Hamadou 14, Pascua 6, Bonleon 6, Adoum Abba 3, Morada 2, Diego 2, Pascual 1, Estacio 1, General 0, Corilla 0, Mallari 0.

Quarters: 18-7, 36-27, 55-39, 73-66

Second Game

PERPETUAL 82—Akhuetie 24, Dagangon 16, Elopre 14, Thompson 9, Eze 7, Coronel 5, Oliveria 4, Dizon 2, Sadiwa 1, Ylagan 0, Tamayo 0, Bantayan 0, Gallardo 0, Cabiltes 0.

MAPUA 79—Nimes 16, Oraeme 15, Isit 13, Aguirre 12, Biteng 8, Stevens 4, Serrano 4, Raflores 4, Brana 2, Dela Rosa 1, Que 0, Menina 0.

Quarters: 18-20, 35-39, 59-62, 82-79