Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Finally playing with a sense of urgency, Perpetual weathered a mighty challenge from Letran and came away with an 88-82 overtime victory Thursday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
MVP frontrunner Prince Eze showed his worth with 21 points and 19 rebounds, but it was Gab Dagangon who came up with the big shots in extra time to salvage the Altas.
The lanky forward drilled two crucial jumpers over Rey Nambatac to push his side from a 77-all deadlock to an 82-77 advantage with 3:01 left in OT, and stifled the Knights’ late rally as he blocked Nambatac in the final minute before AJ Coronel put the game out of reach with his freebies.
Dagangon finished with 21 markers, five boards, three assists, and two blocks in the win.
GJ Ylagan chimed in 18 points and three rebounds, while Coronel added 10 markers, four boards, three dimes, and three steals.
“We play with no pressure. We’re free-wheeling, no one’s hesitant, especially on offense. We had some lapses, but at least, we survived it in the overtime period,” said Gican, as the Altas improved to 4-6.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Letran, which had to fight back from a 75-72 deficit at the 14.2 second mark of regulation before Bong Quinto banged in the game-tying triple with 4.4 seconds to spare to tie the game at 75.
JP Calvo paced the Knights with 21 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Quinto got 15 markers, six boards, and two dimes before fouling out at the 1:43 mark of the extra period.
Nambatac also got 15 points, 12 rebounds, and two assists in the defeat, which sent Letran down to 5-5.
The Scores:
PERPETUAL 88 – Eze 21, Dagangon 21, Ylagan 18, Coronel 10, Pido 9, Cabiltes 4, Hao 3, Yuhico 2, Mangalino 0, Sadiwa 0, Clemente 0, Lucente 0, Tamayo 0.
LETRAN 82 – Calvo 21, Quinto 15, Nambatac 15, Vacaro 9, Balanza 8, Taladua 7, Bernabe 3, Mandreza 2, Gedaria 2, Pamulaklakin 0, Balagasay 0, De Villa 0, Caralipio 0, Pascual 0.
Quarters: 18-12, 32-33, 57-52, 75-75, 88-82.