The Arellano Chiefs may be small in size and height, but not at heart.
That was the theme of their 72-70 stunning escape against defending champion San Beda University on Saturday that pushed the school's slate to 2-5 after a string of heartbreaks.
"Ginagamit lang namin na advantage ‘yun since maliliit kami, wala kaming mga players na mga bigs except kay (JL) Capulong and ‘yung ibang malalaki naman namin ay nasa developmental stage pa rin," second-year Arellano head coach Chico Manabat said.
Arellano is considered one of the smallest teams this season with only the 6-foot-6 Capulong seen as their legit big man while the rest of the squad is composed of small guards T-Mc Ongotan, Ernjay Geronimo, Basti Valencia, and Yuan Camay.
But that didn't matter against the taller Red Lions, who outrebounded Arellano, 42 to 37, despite the loss.
Capulong showed he can break down the San Beda wall composed of the likes of 6-foot-5 Yukien Andrada, 6-foot-7 Adrian Sollano, 6-foot-4 Joe Celzo, and other big guards ilke RC Calimag, Bryan Sajonia, and James Payosing.
The sophomore bruiser tallied 13 points, highlighted by the one-handed floater over Andrada that pushed their lead to five with 44 seconds left to go in the game, while also grabbing seven rebounds and two assists.
Manabat acknowledged that defeating San Beda is no easy feat, but stressed the win is a good barometer in assessing how his program is running to date.
"Siguro lahat ng team target ay ‘yung champion team eh para ma-test din kung nasaan na ‘yung program niyo. Nagtrabaho talaga lahat from bata hanggang sa coaches," Manabat added.
"Mabigat din ‘yung San Beda and siguro lucky lang kami na ito ‘yung pa-birthday sa akin ng players ko."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
