Not your Knight - Kevin Alas (left) couldn't play the hero again as his team fell to the Altas. KC Cruz
With coaching legend Aric del Rosario at the helm of the University of Perpetual Help Altas, the squad's fortunes have shifted from downright mediocre to sensational.
Displaying enough basketball savvy in the dying seconds, the vastly improved Altas hung on for a stunning 69-66 win against the Colegio de San Juan De Letran Knights, Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena, in the 88th NCAA seniors division basketball tournament.
Further adding to the surprise was the fact that the damage was done chiefly by some of the Altas reserves, namely Earl Thompson, who provided 14 points, nine coming in the second quarter, plus a total of seven rebounds, and Joel Jolangcob, who provided 11 markers.
Femi Babayemi (right) is there to challenge the shot of Jamil Gabawan. KC Cruz
Marquee player Jett Vidal, who had nothing in the first half, scored seven of his nine points in the final quarter to help seal the win for the Altas.
“We were struggling during the game because of Letran’s defense but we are happy to overcome it and play the same aggressive defense against them,” said Thompson, who also did an excellent defensive job on Letran star Kevin Alas, limiting him to only 15 points, more than halving his career-high 31-point output from opening day.
Alas muffed a game-tying three-point attempt and Vidal grabbed the loose ball as time expired and the final buzzer sounded.
“We just managed to hang on,” said Perpetual’s new head coach Del Rosario, who steered University of Santo Tomas to five straight UAAP titles during the 90’s. “My players responded well after I told them that it is already a long, long time since we defeated Letran.”
Thompson gave the Altas a 68-60 spread with 2:45 left, but the Knights ate into the deficit, 68-63, after Jamil Gabawan’s power play at the 2:27 mark.
The Knights actually led in almost every statistical category but the Altas got a huge boost from the turnover points category, collecting 20 to just seven by Letran.
"My players are very hungry to win. They were been in the cellar for so many years," Del Rosario added
Mark Cruz (center) is swallowed up by the Perpetual Help defense. KC Cruz
With two minutes remaining, a clearly frustrated Kevin Alas was whistled for an offensive foul on a triple try, with his team down 68-63. Neither side managed to score on their next possessions, and when the ball returned to the Knights, another Alas turnover gave Perpetual the chance to extend their lead, 58.3 seconds left.
The Altas got several good looks but they eventually committed a turnover as well, 20 seconds left. Alas then made up for his earlier errors by canning an open triple that made it a two-point game, 10.1 seconds left.
Perpetual Help initially went to Vidal for the crucial play, but Nick Omorogbe got the ball and was fouled by Kevin Racal. The new recruit then converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line with only nine seconds left on the game clock, prior to Alas' miss that closed out the game.
Host school Letran evened their record at 1-1, but will get a week off before their next game, a battle against the 0-3 Arellano Chiefs. Perpetual Help on the other hand, faces a quick turnaround, as they're scheduled to play last season's runners-up, the San Sebastian Stags, on Monday.
- AMD, GMA News
The scores:
UPHSD 69 – Thompson 14, Jolangcob 11, Vidal 9, Allen 7, Paulino 6, Babayemi 6, Omorogbe 4, Elopre 4, Alano 4, Arboleda 4.
CSJL 66 – K. Alas 15, Cortes 14, Cruz 9, Belorio 9, Almazan 6, Lituania 5, Racal 4, Gabawan 3, Luib 1, J. Alas 0.
Quarter scores: 15-18, 31-34, 51-50, 69-66.
Inboundpass has been covering collegiate basketball for six years. For more NCAA stories and information, check out inboundpass.com and follow Inboundpass on Twitter at @inboundpass
