University of Perpetual Help System DALTA needed just one huge run in the fourth quarter to pull off a 73-61 stunner against Colegio de San Juan de Letran despite being down by as much as 12 early on.
The win allowed the ALTAs to snap their woeful two-game skid after bowing to San Beda University and Mapua University---two squads which occupy the first and second spots in the team standings right now.
Perpetual head coach Myk Saguiguit said they turned those two sorry losses into an inspiration ahead of their second round opener against the Knights.
"‘Yung two losses, they are the top two teams in the NCAA right now, hindi ko tinake ‘yun na malungkot eh kasi sabi ko kaya naman pala natin eh," Saguiguit said.
"Sabi ko sa mga players, nandiyan na ‘yung Perpetual sa season so going into this game against Letran, ‘yun ‘yung pinaghugutan namin kasi kaya naman pala namin."
(Those two losses, they were against the top two teams in the NCAA right now and I did not take those sadly because I know we can. I told our players, that's the level we are standing and going against Letran, that was our motivation. We can do it.)
And that bore fruit for the Las Piñas crew.
They played catch-up almost all-game long but thanks to a 19-0 barrage in the fourth led by rookie Angelo Gelsano, the ALTAs were able to take command of the game and build a 70-59 cushion.
There were a lot of heroes for Perpetual who stood out in the game with sophomores Cyrus Nitura and Jun Roque churning out 17 and 16 points apiece with the latter also collecting 12 boards to finish with a double-double.
Veteran Jielo Razon chipped in 13 points while Gelsano tallied 10 markers in just 15 minutes of action as they completed an elimination round sweep of Letran.
The win was definitely a huge boost for Perpetual, especially after absorbing two tight defeats at the hands of the Red Lions and the Cardinals.
Perpetual blew a 14-point lead against San Beda en route to a 62-60 loss before Mapua escaped them with a 62-61 victory last Saturday.
"Ni-remind ko sila na, kasi ang tingin nila parang tapos na ‘yung season e, so sinabi ko na ‘wag nila tignan ‘yung standings and just take it one game at a time," Saguiguit added.
"Flat na flat ‘yung start namin nung first half so sabi ko hindi pa tayo tapos. Ako naniniwala na hangga’t wala pang buzzer, maniwala tayo. Nag-respond naman sila."
(I reminded them because they might think that the season is over, so I said do not look at the standings and just take it one game at a time. We had a flat start during the first half so I told them we're not yet done. I believe that as long as it's not the final buzzer yet, let's keep the faith. They responded.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
