NCAA: Arellano ends Mapua’s four-game streak

Arellano Chiefs’ Kent Salado and Jiovani Jalalon. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Even a bad shooting night from its main guy couldn’t stop Arellano from cruising to a 96-75 win over Mapua in the NCAA Season 92 men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Not helping the Cardinals is Allwell Oraeme’s foul-plagued outing as he exited the game with five fouls at the 3:29 mark of the third quarter.

Kent Salado came off the bench and paced the Chiefs with 20 points on a 7-of-13 shooting from the field, to go with nine rebounds and two assists.

His effort more than made up for the off-shooting Jiovani Jalalon, who only got eight points on a paltry 3-of-16 clip after missing his first 11 attempts.

But the Gilas cadet was still able to help Arellano en route to the win, finishing with nine assists and seven rebounds.

“There are players who played beyond their usual game. Our system naman is our perimeter game and they followed our gameplan,” said coach Jerry Codinera.

Zach Nicholls also took advantage of the huge spread and dropped 14 of his 16 markers in the fourth.

Lervin Flores chimed 10 points, eight boards, and three blocks, while Ariel Aguilar had 10 markers and five dimes.

Codinera lauded the Chiefs’ defense as he was glad to see a huge bounce back win from his boys after losing to Letran last week.

“Lahat sinunod namin after that tough loss against Letran and it got Oraeme frustrated at di na sya naka-adjust,” he said.

Arellano broke off from a tight 33-29 halftime with a superb 33-point outburst in the third quarter, allowing the Chiefs to hold a lead as high as 25, 96-71 late in the game.

Andrew Estrella topped Mapua with 20 points and five rebounds, while Justin Serrano and Joseph Eriobu both had 10.

The Cardinals also saw their four-game winning streak cut short, falling for the first time in five games.

The Scores:

ARELLANO 96 – Salado 20, Nicholls 16, Aguilar 10, Flores 10, Jalalon 8, Gumaru 7, Enriquez 6, Villoria 5, Cadavis 4, Canete 4, Holts 4, Alcoriza 2, Gupilan 0, Meca 0.
MAPUA 75 – Estrella 20, Eriobu 12, Serrano 12, Isit 10, Oraeme 9, Bunag 6, Biteng 3, Orquina 3, Menina 0, Raflores 0, Victoria 0.

Quarters: 20-16, 33-29, 66-51, 96-75.