PERPETUAL put the clamps on San Sebastian 67-54 to get a winning start in Group A of the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan.
Former FEU Tamaraw Patrick Sleat scored eight points in the first quarter to power the Altas’ breakaway, as they zoomed to a 22-10 lead, a lead they never relinquished en route to a wire-to-wire win.
Perpetual led by as many as 17, 58-41, midway through the fourth before the Golden Stags made a late 11-2 run with a little more than two minutes remaining to trim the lead to just eight, 60-52.
But Shawn Orgo doused cold water in the Baste uprising, drilling a three-pointer with a minute and 50 seconds remaining for the knockout blow.
“Happy kami na nakuha namin yung first win namin of the season, but we have a lot of work to do. San Sebastian is a tough team. Na-delay kami doon sa kanilang half court trap, but we were able to figure it out in the second half,” Altas coach Olsen Racela said.
“Malaking bagay na maganda yung start namin to set the tone for the game. He (Sleat) set the tone for the game for us with his unselfishness and creativity and others followed his lead,” he added.
Perpetual puts on the clamps
Mark Gojo Cruz paced Perpetual in scoring, as he fired 15 points on 50-percent shooting from the field, while Sleat, who was playing through foul trouble after that hot first quarter, finished with 10 points, five assists, and four rebounds.
The big pair of John Abis and JP Boral chipped in 10 apiece, while combining for 13 boards in a solid effort down low for the Altas.
But it was their defense which really stood out in this game, as they held San Sebastian to just 28.3-percent shooting from the field while forcing 16 turnovers.
Golden Stag Paeng Are, last year’s scoring champion, was limited to just six points on 2-of-6 shooting, something that wasn’t lost on Racela.
“If there’s one thing na gusto ko pansinin talaga is yung defensive effort namin today. Limiting them and limiting Paeng Are, that was our game plan and I think the players followed it to the letter,” he stated.
“Hopefully ganun ang laruin namin, that they realized that it’s gonna take a tremendous defensive effort to win games in the NCAA.”
Tristan Felebrico led the way for Baste with 12 points, albeit on a woeful 1-8 shooting from the field, as no other player for debuting coach Rob Labagala breached double-digits.
The Scores:
PERPETUAL 67 – Gojo Cruz 15, Sleat 10, Boral 10, Abis 10, Orgo 8, Tulabut 6, Maglupay 2, Casinillo 2, Nunez 2, Duremdes 2, Alcantara 0, Gelsano 0, Pagulayan 0
SAN SEBASTIAN 54 – Felebrico 12, Dela Rama 8, Gabat 7, Ricio 7, Are 6, Cuajao 6, Dimaunahan 3, Castor 2, Velasco 2, Nepacena 1, Lumanag 0
Quarters: 22-12, 30-19, 43-34, 67-54
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