The University of Perpetual Help System Dalta banked on the heroics of an unlikely reserve as the Altas surged to the top spot with an 89-59 rout of NCAA seniors basketball doormat Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Tuesday at the San Juan Arena.
Second string Gerald Dizon scored a career-high 18 points, on top of four triples, all in the second and third quarters when the Altas walloped the Generals after a see-saw contest in the first quarter.
Dizon relieved reigning MVP Scottie Thompson in the second canto and threw three of Perpetual’s six treys in the quarter as they surged ahead, 40-30, to end the first half. Thompson though still delivered his seventh triple-double in Season 91 with 10 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists.
EAC still managed to come close, 34-40, early in the third quarter but foul troubles saddled key players Hamadou Laminou and Sidney Onwubere, with the former fouling out in the last 32 seconds of the quarter and the latter, at the three-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
The Altas then ended the third with a 12-1 run for a 64-41 scoreline, then opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run anchored on their reserve unit.
The game though ended up with a scuffle that erupted into a fistfight outside the playing court.
With one and a half minutes left, Perpetual’s Nikolo Cabiltes and EAC’s Rico Diego shoved each other after a rebound play, which resulted in their disqualification in the game. EAC point guard Faustine Pascua also threw profanities at the Altas players as he was likewise thrown out from the game.
After the game, Pascua and Onwubere reportedly ganged up on Cabiltes, which resulted in an ugly fist fight.
For being thrown out from the game, Cabiltes, Diego, and Pascua face mandatory suspensions while Onwubere may be suspended for his alleged involvement in the fight outside the arena.
It can be remembered that in Season 90, the Generals, who were also playing in a no-bearing game against the Mapua Cardinals, figured in a bench-clearing fight wherein former point guard John Tayongtong punched Mapua’s CJ Isit. The fight resulted in a season ban for Tayongtong and the forfeiture of EAC’s subsequent two games due to the suspension of almost its entire roster.
Christ Mejos led the way for the Generals with 13 points while Jozhua General had 11 points. Both combined for six triples.
The Altas now sports an 11-4 record for Season 91.
