LETRAN booted out University of Santo Tomas (UST) from contention in the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup after Brent Paraiso and King Caralipio turned back their late rally for an 81-77 well-earned win Wednesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Knights marched forward to a 3-2 won-lost card, while dealing the Growling Tigers their fifth defeat in seven games in Group B, where De La Salle University and Lyceum of the Philippines University are already through to the next round.
The two teams were neck-and-neck in the first eight minutes until the back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association champions counted three different players contributing in a 12-3 run that padded a four-point lead into a 28-15 advantage midway the second quarter.
Fighting for their playoff lives, UST went on a furious 16-2 fightback inside the last four minutes to turn a 14-point deficit into a tied tally of 77-all with 30.8 seconds left. Off a timeout, though, Letran put the ball in the hands of Paraiso who powered through Jamba Garing for the go-ahead layup.
Two defensive stops and a couple of charities from Caralipio later and the Knights scored a much-needed bounce back win, as they still have two tough assignments left against San Sebastian College-Recoletos and then La Salle. In the end, Caralipio had 18 points and eight rebounds, while Neil Guarino also added 15 markers and six rebounds.
The Growling Tigers closed their campaign with a loss despite 19 points each from Sherwin Concepcion and Bryan Santos.
In the first game, College of St. Benilde got one foot through the door of the quarterfinals courtesy of an 86-78 escape against Arellano University.
The Blazers ended the eliminations with a 5-3 standing after Miggy Corteza starred with 14 points – all but five coming in their pivotal 28-point third period – to go along with five rebounds, while Migs Oczon and Jimboy Pasturan got 11 markers apiece. The Chiefs mounted a massive 31-point final frame to keep threatening, but had time run out on them.
“It’s a good win for us, but I still think we have a long way to go, especially with how we ended this game. I wanted the boys to show their character, and luckily, we escaped with the win,” said head coach Charles Tiu.
CSB now needs an Emilio Aguinaldo College loss either to National University later or Mapua University on Saturday to complete the Group A quarterfinals cast alongside the Bulldogs (6-0), the University of the Philippines (5-2), and Adamson University (5-3). The decision, meantime, eliminated 4-4 University of the East.
Arellano had long been ousted from contention and now holds a 1-5 record. Cade Flores topped the scoring column for them with a breakout double-double of 26 points and 14 rebounds on top of five assists, four steals, and three blocks.
BULLDOGS DOWN GENERALS
NATIONAL University, on the other hand, moved closer to an elimination round sweep after dominating Emilio Aguinaldo College, 89-77.
Riding a 33-11 second quarter, the Bulldogs ran away from the Generals by turning a 19-all deadlock into a 52-30 blowout at halftime en route to their sixth win in as many games. They put on display their difference-making depth, outclassing their opponents in bench points, 68-32.
John Galinato scored 12 points in just 13 minutes, while John Lloyd Clemente and Jolo Manansala chimed in 11 markers apiece. NU will try to finish off the eliminations sweep on Thursday against University of Perpetual Help.
With the result, 3-4 EAC was eliminated, while the Bulldogs, University of the Philippines (5-2), Adamson University (5-3) and College of St. Benilde (5-3) complete the cast for Group A in the crossover quarterfinals.
San Beda University fanned its playoff hopes after hacking out an 88-69 triumph over Jose Rizal University in a highly-physical game.
Five Red Lions were in double-digits led by Peter Alfaro who had 15 points, three assists, and three rebounds, while JB Bahio did damage all over with 11 markers, eight rebounds, and five assists. The two spurred their side to a strong 17-5 start in the wire-to-wire win that hiked their record to 2-4 in Group B, where two more quarterfinals berths are up for grabs.
The Heavy Bombers didn’t give up just yet, as their tight defense closed the gap to just five, 64-69, with seven minutes remaining. Off a timeout, San Beda then regrouped and responded with 18 unanswered points to re-establish an 87-64 advantage with 1:23 left.
Justine Sanchez hit back-to-back triples to anchor that run and wound up with 13 points, while veteran guard James Kwekuteye had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
JRU remained winless through six starts even after a 19-point outing from Ry Dela Rosa, while Ralph Robin topped the scoring column for the Generals with 15 points.