Arellano stays alive, knocks off San Sebastian

Michael Cañete. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Arellano stayed alive in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament, stunning San Sebastian, 85-79, Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

In a precarious position of missing the Final Four, the Chiefs played to their full potential to force a fifth place tie with the Golden Stags at 7-9 and fan their playoff hopes as the elimination round nears the close.

Kent Salado topped Arellano with 22 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals, but had to exit the game with 8:22 remaining after hyperextending his right leg after RK Ilagan fell on him on the rebound play.

But Arellano got a huge boost from its other players, as Michael Cañete fired six of his 15 markers in the fourth quarter, to go with three boards, two dimes, and three steals, while Levi Dela Cruz had 10 points, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

“The first three quarters was laid down by Kent and we had a good start. So it was up to the others to help is and it’s high time for them to know how to close it without Kent,” said coach Jerry Codiñera.

Zach Nicholls also stepped up, going 3-of-9 from three to collect nine markers, none bigger than his dagger trey from the left corner to push the Chiefs up, 83-72, in the final minute.

“We made minor adjustments on our end. At first, I felt our team doesn’t really believe in team defense. But in the end, we helped each other out,” said the mentor.

Allyn Bulanadi topped San Sebastian with 14 points and four rebounds, while Ilagan also got 14 markers in its third straight loss.

Michael Calisaan also registered a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, as the Golden Stags were denied of a chance to inch closer on securing a playoff for the last Final Four seat.

The Scores:

ARELLANO 85 – Salado 22, Cañete 15, Dela Cruz 10, Nicholls 9, Viloria 8, Abanes 6, Flores 4, Meca 4, Alcoriza 3, Concepcion 2, Enriquez 2, Taywan 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 79 – Bulanadi 14, Ilagan 14, Calma 12, Gayosa 9, Navarro 9, Calisaan 7, Capobres 7, Costelo 3, David 2, Mercado 2, Baetiong 0, Quipse 0, Valdez 0.

Quarters: 20-19, 38-33, 60-52, 85-79.