Sans Salado, Arellano continues Final Four drive

Lervin Flores. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Arellano bucked Kent Salado’s absence and continued to tread the Final Four tightrope, downing Perpetual, 62-52, in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament Thursday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Chiefs rose to fifth place with an 8-9 card after racking up their third straight win with only a game left in the eliminations against Mapua on Tuesday.

Coach Jerry Codiñera was glad with Arellano’s adjustments without Salado, who suffered a slight MCL tear on his right knee in the Chiefs’ last game against San Sebastian.

“It was a big change for them to play without Kent. We started bad, we couldn’t score, but when (Lervin) Flores scored, the doubts and apprehensions disappeared,” he said.

Lervin Flores topped the Chiefs with 19 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and two assists, while Rence Alcoriza got 16 markers and seven boards off the bench.

Levi dela Cruz also fired 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he took the cudgels as Arellano’s starting point guard.

The Chiefs pulled away from a close 23-22 affair as they staged a 21-3 run abridging the middle periods to establish the 44-25 advantage in the third quarter.

Also-ran Perpetual incurred their sixth straight loss as it further plummeted to a 4-12 card.

AJ Coronel paced the Altas with 14 points and three rebounds, while Prince Eze got 11 markers, 22 boards, and four blocks in the losing end.

The Scores:

ARELLANO 62 – Flores 19, Alcoriza 16, Dela Cruz 11, Canete 6, Nicholls 5, Villoria 4, Meca 1, Enriquez 0, Abanes 0, Ongolo Ongolo 0, Taywan 0, Concepcion 0, Padilla 0.

PERPETUAL 52 – Coronel 14, Eze 11, Lucente 10, Pido 8, Dagangon 6, Ylagan 3, Tamayo 0, Casas 0, Clemente 0, Yuhico 0, Mangalino 0, Sadiwa 0.

Quarters: 14-17, 29-23, 48-34, 62-52.