Arellano’s Basti Valencia during a game against JRU in NCAA Season 100.–NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Basti Valencia took it upon himself and spearheaded the Arellano Chiefs’ 81-77 come-from-behind win over the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers on Tuesday in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament.
As their offense refused to click, Valencia decided to bear the responsibility of towing the Chiefs to another victory, sinking eight of his team’s last 10 points to match his previous career-high 25 points.
“Our offense was getting nowhere. Tmac (Ongotan) was always there, but they somehow checked Lorenz (Capulong), so I just went out there to help our team,” said Valencia after grabbing five rebounds, issuing three assists and posting a block and a steal.
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The 6-foot-3 forward smoothly buried a jumper just inside the arc that knotted the count and followed it up with a fadeaway for the Arellano lead in the ensuing possession.
Couldn’t get his A-game going throughout, but Capulong’s monster block on Marvin Raymundo in the dying seconds was instrumental before Valencia again drilled it off the glass, settling the final score.
“Basti always does these things in practice. Good thing his shots connected today, this is a perfect game for him,” said Arellano coach Chico Manabat.
Backed by a highly supportive community, the Chiefs are still in the running for a place in the Final Four with their sixth victory in 15 games.
READ: NCAA: Arellano fuels Final Four chase with win over Perpetual
Ongotan finished with 17 points capped by two free throws with 15 seconds left that broke the final deadlock at 77. Em Geronimo added 12 and Capulong had 10 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two assists.
“We just identified the area where we can dominate them, so we consistently went to the post,” said Manabat.
Joshua Guiab won his matchup with Capulong around the rim by tallying 25 points and Shawn Argente added 15 for the Heavy Bombers, who joined the San Sebastian Stags toward the Final Four exits with identical 4-11 records.
The scores
ARELLANO 81 – Valencia 25, Ongotan 17, Geronimo 12, Capulong 10, Camay 9, Vinoya 2, Borromeo 2, Hernal 2, Miller 1, Libang 1, Abiera 0, Flores 0
JRU 77 – Guiab 20, Argente 15, Barrera 14, Raymundo 9, Bernardo 6, De Leon 5, Ramos 3, De Jesus 3, Sarmiento 2, Panapanaan 0, Pangilinan 0, Mosqueda 0, Ferrer 0
Quarterscores: 15-24, 41-40, 57-62, 81-77