San Beda edges Perpetual Help, gets solo second NCAA lead

MANILA, Philippines – In an exhilarating battle for the solo second spot, reigning 5-peat NCAA champion San Beda College eked out an 83-81 win over University of Perpetual Help System Dalta on Tuesday, July 28, at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

The Red Lions were trailing by 4 points and had trouble in defending Earl Scottie Thompson and Bright Akhuetie from coming in and out the shaded lane in the first half. But the Jamike Jarin-mentored squadron picked up the pace in the 3rd quarter with the help of Art Dela Cruz, who finished with another double-double performance as he mustered 25 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists, one steal, and one block.

The Mendiola Five were able to register 25 points in the 3rd frame, courtesy of the fluidity of their ball movement. This allowed Dela Cruz, Ola Adeogun, Ranbill Tongco, and Micole Sorela to spearhead easy breakaways on the floor.

As Pierre Tankoua split his charities and Javee Mocon drained a long-range jumper to give San Beda its first taste of a double-digit lead, Gabriel Dagongon shattered the Red shirts’ comfortable edge with 3 triples. It put Perpetual Hel within striking distance, 65-63, with still 6:13 left in the fixture.

Akhuetie pressured the Bedan frontline unit to muscle his way to the rim, while Thompson expurgated the lead to one with a two for two free-throws, 70-69.

Adeogun weathered the Altas’ energetic surge by nailing back-to-back baskets, whereas Roldan Sara gave a go-ahead 77-73 leverage with a 3-point play.

With 6.8 seconds remaining and only bannering an 81-79 advantage, Tongco attempted to nail a beyond-the-arc shot, but he missed.

When Thompson was about to relay the inbound pass, Sorela amazingly flicked to steal the ball from Perpetual Help’s cold-blooded gunslinger, who amassed 20 markers with 4 boards.

In addition, Thompson botched 4 crucial free throws down the stretch that could have tied or given Perpetual Help the lead.

Sorela served as the hero for the Red Lions when he chipped in two pressure-packed free throws to secure the victory and improve San Beda’s record to 5-1 in the NCAA Season 91 men’s senior basketball 

“It’s all about the will to win. At that moment, we had to make sure to walk out with the win. It was a tough situation, but we had to remain focused especially in a close game against a team like Perpetual,” said Sorela, who finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

On the other hand, the maroon-and-gold troop dropped to a 4-2 standing as Akhuetie led Perpetual Help with 25 points, 16 rebounds, two assists, and 6 steals.

Scores:

San Beda (83) – Dela Cruz 25, Sorela 15, Adeogun 11, Tongco 10, Tankoua 7, Sara 5, Soberano 4, Koga 2, Cabañag 2, Mocon 2, Reyes 0

Perpetual Help (81) – Akhuetie 25, Thompson 20, Dagongon 18, Coronel 6, Dizon 3, Eze 3, Tamayo 2, Gallardo 2, Cabiltes 2, Oliveria 0, Ylagan 0, Bantayan 0, Sadiwa 0, Elopre 0

Quarter scores: 19-18, 35-39, 60-54, 83-81

– Rappler.com