De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde – behind the efforts of veterans Jonathan Grey and Luis Sinco – frustrated University of Perpetual Help via a 77-73 decision in Wednesday’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Season 90 seniors basketball tournament action at The Arena in San Juan City.
The duo blitzed for 17 of the Blazers’ 21 points late in the third period to overhaul a 13 point deficit, 41-54, midway through the third period to just five, 58-63, by the end of the quarter.
Then, their patience in chipping away at the lead paid off, as the Altas core could not keep up with Benilde after playing extended minutes on the floor and resulted in a tied ballgame at 70-all with 1:40 left, courtesy of Mark Romero’s trey from the right arc.
Paolo Taha, who struggled to find his form throughout the game, made his presence felt on the defensive end with crucial defensive stops – including a steal that resulted in Romero completing a split on the line for the momentary 71-70 lead with 1:15 left – and the go-ahead layup with 36.7 ticks on the clock to put them on the driver’s seat, 73-72.
With less than 20 seconds on the game clock, Earl Thompson tried to drive down the lane to scoop up the lead-swinging layup, but was promptly caught stepping out of bounds. Livid by the call, Perpetual Help head coach Aric Del Rosario was slapped a technical foul to give away two foul shots and possession of the ball to Benilde with eight seconds left put the game out of reach.
Grey, who scored 12 points in the second half alone, amounted for a team-high 19 points in the ballgame, while Sinco made a huge turnaround from a dismal three point output in the first half to score 15.
“Today, we were really so worried about their game last time [against Letran] kasi we saw that they shot 52 percent from three point line. It was one of our objectives today, to shut down the three point [shots]. Though in the first half, it was scary that they were getting open looks at the basket. Good thing in the second half, we hustled enough to take away those three-pointers,” said Benilde Head Coach Gabby Velasco.
“I’m quite happy [also] with the way that we were attacking their defense. I told the team that we should try to get inside, try to get layups and let’s try to attack them and hopefully get them in foul trouble or get fatigued with their limited rotation,” he added.
For Benilde, the win pushed their record up to 4-5, after a disastrous 0-3 mark to begin their campaign, to tie both Perpetual Help and Lyceum of the Philippines for third place.
In contrast, third year Altas mentor Del Rosario lamented that his wards lack the killer’s instinct to close out ballgames, which was evident in their other previous loss to San Beda College.
“Sabi ko sa kanila na hindi tayo pwede na lalamang tayo, tapos pahahabulin natin sila. Lumamang kami ng thirteen, tapos pinahabol namin. Nung last quarter na, hindi na kami maka-shoot. Collapse talaga kami,” said Del Rosario.
The backcourt tandem of Juneric Baloria and Earl Thompson led the charge for the Altas, scattering 22 and 20 markers, respectively.
