RENZO Abiera was perfect from the field to power Arellano to its first win in the NCAA Season 101 tournament following an 82-66 rout of San Sebastian on Tuesday at the Playtime Filoil Center in San Juan.
Abiera finished with 19 points and shot an immaculate 8-of-8 from the field to continue his solid play for the Chiefs after an impressive first half in their loss against the Mapua Cardinals where he fired 12 points all in the first two quarters before curiously sitting out in the final stretch.
The sophomore guard's explosion made up for the absence of T-Mc Ongotan who sat out this game due to a one-game suspension after being thrown out in their opener.
“Salute ako sa mga players na talagang andyan. Without T-Mc, sabi ko nga dapat lahat tayo maging T-Mc Ongotan ngayon,” Arellano coach Chico Manabat said.
“Ito yung [resulta ng] mga preaseason, at last season na tinrabaho namin. Sa mga maturity ng mga iba dito, ito na yung mga tinananim namin. With the right program, the right system na sumusunod sila. Siguro sa tiyaga narin ng mga coaches and mga bata na gusto rin nila manalo," he added.
Maverick Vinoya finished with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Anjord Cabotaje also chipped in 15 off the bench to go along three steals.
The Chiefs hounded the Stags as they finished with 19 steals for the game -- forcing the Stags to 28 turnovers which they converted to 22 points off it.
It was the rookies of San Sebastian who carried the fight for coach Rob Labagala, with Ian Cuajao firing 12 points and Jhuniel Dela Rama adding 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Christian Ricio also finished with 12 as the Stags' main guys in Tristan Felebrico and Paeng Are continued to struggle -- combining for just 13 points while shooting a woeful 4-of-16 from the field as a pair.
The scores:
ARELLANO 82 – Abiera 19, Vinoya 15, Cabotaje 15, Valencia 8, Geronimo 8, Libang 5, Borromeo 4, Hernal 3, Langit 3, Camay 1, Buenaventura 1, Anama 0, Miller 0, Demetria 0, Espiritu 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 66 – Cuajao 12, Ricio 12, Dela Rama 10, Felebrico 8, Lumanag 8, Gabat 7, Are 5, Nepacena 2, Dimaunahan 2, Castor 0, Cabilla 0, Gomez de Liaño 0, Velasco 0
Quarters: 23-22, 48-36, 65-57, 82-66
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
