ARELLANO played the ultimate spoiler to Letran’s NCAA Season 100 semifinals hopes, as it completed a thrilling 67-65 comeback victory on Wednesday, formally eliminating the Knights from contention.
The Chiefs went on a 19-2 run from late in the third to midway through the fourth quarter before bringing it home thanks to the heroics of Basti Valencia, much to the delight of the partisan Arellano crowd inside the Filoil EcoOil Center in San Juan.
“Babalik pa rin tayo sa preparation namin. Pina-practice namin yang (scenario), yung lalamang ang kalaban ng 12, 13 points, pinapaalala ko lang sa kanila na walang nananalo ng first half,” coach Chico Manabat said, as they improved to 7-10 with one game remaining in the tournament.
“Yung second half, dun may nananalo. So nag-translate naman sa mga bata, nakita naman natin talagang dumepensa,” he added.
Trailing 44-54 near the end of the third, Maverick Vinoya powered the Chiefs' comeback by scoring eight in that stretch to put his side up by seven, 63-56, with 5:51 left in the game.
But Letran, which needed a win to keep its Final Four hopes alive, had one last fight in it, responding with a 9-1 run of its own capped by two Kobe Monje free throws to lead one last time, 65-64.
Ultimately, however, it was Arellano's effort and hustle that ultimately won the game, starting with Valencia scoring on a putback with 18.7 seconds remaining despite getting blocked multiple times, before getting a huge stop on Jimboy Estrada a possession later.
A split from Lorenz Capulong kept the doors open for the Knights to steal the win, but Nat Montecillo missed the potential game-winning three at the buzzer, as Letran kissed its semis hopes goodbye.
Brave and balanced Arellano
Capulong led a balanced Chiefs offensive with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Vinoya and Valencia added nine and eight apiece while Hernal and Yuan Camay each chipped in six in the win.
But defense was the name of the game for Arellano, especially in the second half, as it limited the Knights to just 25 points combined in the final two quarters on less than 33 percent shooting.
The brilliant Estrada was shackled, limited to just 10 points on 5-15 shooting, while turning the ball over seven times behind the defensive brilliance of Anthony Borromeo and Em Geronimo who took turns in hounding Intramuros’ top gun.
“Nakita namin si Jimboy, talagang sa kanya manggagaling ang score. Maganda lang dito, napaghandaan namin siya, alam namin kung saan siya pupunta,” Manabat shared.
Monje led the way for Letran with 24 points and three rebounds, as it crashed out following a horror second round which undid the promising 6-3 start it had for the season.
With the Knights’ (8-10) elimination, Lyceum can wrap up its semis return with a win over St. Benilde on Friday.
Should the Pirates lose that game, a loss by Emilio Aguinaldo College in the second game of that day against Jose Rizal University will still push Lyceum to the next round.
A win by the Generals coupled with a Pirates loss will have the two teams duking it out for the last semis spot in the league’s centennial season.
The Scores:
ARELLANO 67 – Capulong 13, Vinoya 9, Valencia 8, Camay 7, Hernal 7, Geronimo 6, De Leon 4, Borroneo 4, Libang 4, Abiera 3, Miller 2, Ongotan 0, Flores 0
LETRAN 65 – Monje 24, Montecillo 11, Javillonar 11, Estrada 10, Miller 5, Santos 2, Nunag 2, Cuajao 0, Jumao-As 0, Dimaano 0
Quarters: 17-16, 28-40, 51-54, 67-65
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