San Sebastian College-Recoletos, who was playing without Paeng Are, eked out a hard-earned fourth victory over Arellano University, 88-75, in NCAA Season 100 on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
Are sustained a knee injury last Tuesday when the Golden Stages played against Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
Tristan Felebrico led all scorers with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double outing to help the Golden Stags end their back-to-back slide and improve to 4-10 as they hope to still get a chance for a Final Four slot.
The Golden Stags steadily dug itself out of a 37-50 hole in the third quarter with an impressive 24-7 surge to gain the upper hand and greet the payoff period with a 61-57 advantage.
Despite some resistance from Arellano that saw things locked at 61-all off Joseph Hernal’s huge and-1 play with 8:45 left to play, San Sebastian still pulled away midway through the fourth period with another double-digit lead at 82-70 capped by Aguilar’s wide open triple with less than two minutes to spare.
Birthday boy Lorenz Capulong, who finished with 14 points, went on a personal five-point swing in some last-ditch effort, still down 82-75 in the last minute of the match.
However, James Maliwat, who had his opportunity to start for the team in the absence of knee injury-stricken Paeng Are, drilled a last-minute bomb from long distance to make it 85-75 for San Sebastian.
The rest of the final seconds went the Golden Stags’ way as they planned to wrap up their remaining assignments on a good note.
Aside from Felebrico, Nikko Aguilar was equally reliable with 16 points and five rebounds.
Reggz Gabat flirted with a double-double of his own with 12 points and nine rebounds, while Raymart Escobido added 10 points in the balanced attack.
The Chiefs slipped 5-9 in the standings with their semifinal hopes getting dimmer by the day.
Apart from Capulong, Renzo Abiera and Tmac Ongotan combined for 21 points in the losing effort.
Scores:
San Sebastian 88 – Felebrico 17, Aguilar 16, R. Gabat 12, Escobido 10, L. Gabat 9, Maliwat 8, Velasco 7, Ramilo 6, Lintol 2, Chuidian 1, Pascual 0, Suico 0, Cruz 0, Barroga 0.
Arellano 75 – Capulong 14, Abiera 11, Ongotan 10, Vinoya 8, Libang 6, Camay 6, Valencia 5, Hernal 5, Miller 4, Geronimo 3, Espiritu 3, Borromeo 0, Flores 0.
Quarters: 20-22, 35-46, 61-57, 88-75.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
