Juneric Baloria helped the Altas defeat the Pirates. Jeff Venancio
Perpetual Help got help outside its high-scoring troika of Juneric Baloria, Earl Scottie Thompson and Harold Arboleda as it trounced Lyceum, 78-62, to zoom back to third place in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City on Wednesday.
Baloria, Thompson and Arboleda had a usual day in the office by combining for 45 points but was boosted by Justine Alano, Joel Jolangcob and rarely-used John Ylanan stepping up by chipping in 15, 10 and six points, respectively.
"I keep telling the other players to contribute because we can't win with just three players doing everything," said Perpetual Help coach Aric del Rosario.
The win thus ended the Altas' two-game slide while clinching them a fourth victory in six outings, good enough for solo third spot.
Four-peat champion San Beda and Arellano University lead the league with identical 5-1 (win-loss) slates.
Baloria was in his usual element as he came through with 23 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a steal while Thompson flirted with another triple-double performance by winding up with 13 points, 11 boards and seven dimes while spiking it with a pair of steals and the same number of blocks.
The day, however, belonged to the other trio of Alano, Jolangcob and Ylagan, which got the rest of the job done.
"I was really embarrassed I didn't get to contribute in the last game so I made sure to make an impact in this game," said Alano, who had just five points in a 97-85 defeat to Arellano U last week, in Filipino.
Jolangcob, one of the smallest players in the court, likewise played big as he added eight boards, three assists, a steal and a block to his 10-point output while Ylagan drained two triples in just six minutes on the court.
The Pirates drew strength from Joseph Gabayni's double-double effort of 12 points and 14 caroms and the 15 and 12 points from Wilson Baltazar and Cameroonian shooter Guy Mbida but couldn't match the Altas' firepower.
It didn't help that Dexter Zamora and Shane Ko struggled as they were held to just nine and four points after coming into this duel averaging in double figures.
Lyceum fell from No. 3 to No. 4 with a 4-3 record.
Letran's Rey Publico tries to score against the Generals' defense. Jeff Venancio
In the second game, Letran rode on the shoulders of Kevin Racal as it survived Emilio Aguinaldo, 63-61, to arrest an alarming skid.
Racal poured in 19 points including eight in the final quarter in helping the Knights end a two-game skein while snaring them a second win against four losses.
"What we did is to play defense first before anything else," said Racal, who co-captains Letran along with Mark Cruz.
The Generals fell to 1-5. — JST, GMA News
The Scores:
First Game
Perpetual (78) -- Baloria 23, Alano 15, Thompson 13, Jolangcob 10, Arboleda 9, Ylagan 6, Gallardo 2, Oliveria 0, Dizon 0, Bantayan 0.
LPU (62) -- Baltazar 15, Gabayni 12, Mbida 12, Zamora 9, Bulawan 6, Ko 4, Taladua 2, Elmejrab 2, Soliman 0, Lesmoras 0, Malabanan 0, Maconocido 0.
Quarters: 15-11, 38-29, 56-46, 78-62.
Second Game
Letran (63) -- Racal 19, Cruz 12, Gabawan 8, Tambeling 7, Nambatac 5, Publico 4, Dela Pena 3, Quinto 3, Singontiko 2, Castro 0, Ruaya 0, Luib 0, Apreku 0.
EAC (61) -- Tayongtong 17, Happi 13, Aguilar 9, Onwubere 7, Jamon 5, Arquero 5, Serrano 2, Saludo 2, King 1, Santos 0.
Quarters: 20-10, 32-16, 45-40, 63-61.
