Akhuetie shines bright as Perpetual nips San Beda at the buzzer

Perpetual Help Altas celebrate a hard-fought win over San Beda. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Bright Akhuetie nailed the game winning basket and lifted University of Perpetual Help to an 88-86 win over San Beda in a game of filled with dramatics and enough plot twists in the NCAA season 91 men’s basketball tournament Thursday at San Juan Arena.

Sparingly-used Nestor Bantayan zipped a simple pass to Akhuetie who then made good with a bank shot at the sound of the buzzer.

Altas head coach Aric del Rosario said their game had to be in God’s hands until the final buzzer.

“I think it was God’s will,” del Rosario, holding back tears after his wards delivered him a 9-4 record good for a third place tie with Arellano University.

“I saw what I’ve always wanted from them, they never gave up, and they fought tooth-and-nail for the victory.”

Art De La Cruz tied the game at 86-86 with a layup with 15.4 seconds remaining.

“There were times when we led and San Beda would take the lead, and I saw in them they would never give up,” Del Rosario said.

With the Altas down 74-73, Akhuetie received a pass from Thompson and threw down a emphatic one-handed slam over Adeogun to give the Altas lead with 4:03 remaining in the game, sending the maroon crowd into a frenzy.

Akhuetie shone bright for the Altas as he finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds while Thompson had a near triple-double of 14 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.

John Ylagan and Flash Sadiwa also finished in double-figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Adeogun led the second-place Red Lions, who dropped to 10-3, with 26 points and eight rebounds while De La Cruz finished 15 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.

Javee Mocon, Ryusei Koga, and Amer also had double-figure scoring games for San Beda finishing with 12, 11, 10 points, respectively.