UNIVERSITY of Santo Tomas swept past Letran, 86-69, yesterday to keep its quarterfinal bid alive in the Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Karim Abdul collected 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists as the Tigers took an early double-digit lead, 23-12, and never looked back.
“We’re glad that we had a good shooting percentage in the first half even though we went cold in the second,” said UST coach Pido Jarencio.
The Tigers tied the Knights at 4-3 in Group A, where only two quarterfinal berths are left after San Beda (7-0) and Ateneo (6-1) secured the first two slots.
Earlier, Perpetual Help survived University of the East’s late rally for an 83-76 triumph in a battle of eliminated teams.
Anthony Paulino drilled 21 points to lead five Perpetual players in double figures as the Altas bowed out with a 2-6 record.
“We had a slow third quarter and we coaches kept reminding them to always work hard,” said Altas coach Lester del Rosario.
The Tigers sizzled with Jeric Teng, Kevin Ferrer, and Jeric Fortuna combining for 34 points even as the early ejection of Letran coach Louie Alas added to the Knights’ woes.
Alas got thrown out in the second quarter following a confrontation with a referee. With reports from Rodolfo Lozada and Jan Ballesteros, Contributors
The scores:
First Game
PERPETUAL 83—Paulino 21, Arboleda 15, Vidal 14, Babayemi 12, Elorpe 11, Thompson 7, Allano 3, Jolangcob 0, Parico 0, Canuza 0, Asuncion 0.
UE 76—Sumang 15, Sumido 9, Alberto 8, Razon 8, Javier 7, Hernandez 7, Santos 6, Valdez 4, De Leon 4, Villarias 3, Galanza 3, Belleza 2, Duncil 0, Montelibano 0, Flores 0, Duran 0.
Quarters: 22-19, 42-30, 60-61, 83-76
Second Game
UST 86—Abdul 18, Teng 13, Ferrer 11, Fortuna 10, Mariano 7, Lo 7, Afuang 6, Bautista 6, Vigil 4, Tan 2, Garrido 2, Mamaril 0, Hainga 0, Lao 0.
LETRAN 69—Cortes 18, Racal 16, Cruz 9, Almazan 6, Alas K. 5, Pantin 5, Alas J. 4, Gabawan 3, Luib 3, Lituania 0.
Quarters: 30-18, 47-28, 59-46, 86-69