John Pinto scored on a putback buzzer-beater to lift Arellano to victory over College of St. Benilde. KC Cruz
John Pinto plucked the offensive rebound out of nowhere and opened the door for that game-winning shot that lifted Arellano University to a 67-66 victory over College of St. Benilde to stick closer to San Beda in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City on Friday.
Pinto punished the Blazers for not boxing out, sprinted inside, and when American teammate Dioncee Holts missed the back end of his two charities, leapt to snatch the rebound away from everybody for the buzzer-beating basket that sealed the Chiefs their seventh win against two losses.
"What can I say, he made the biggest plays of the game," said Arellano U coach Jerry Codinera referring to Pinto, who is playing his last season as he is one of the PBA draft aspirants.
The Blazers, for their part, were back as heartbreak kids after blowing several chances at snatching the win.
The last one proved most fatal as no one from St. Benilde boxed out Pinto, who came from behind the three-point arc to make the pair of game-sealing plays.
The Heavy Bombers moved up to third place in the standings with a win over Emilio Aguinaldo College. KC Cruz
In the first game, Jose Rizal University leaned on a double-digit cushion to overcome a furious comeback by Emilio Aguinaldo College and escape with an 81-79 win that catapulted it to third place.
Philip Paniamogan and Jaypee Asuncion paced their team with 18 and 15 points, respectively, but it was rookie Bernabe Teodoro who sparked the run that gave the Bombers a 13-point third quarter lead that they used to fend off a spiritied fightback by the Generals.
Teodoro, a 20-year-old native of Lucena, Quezon, poured in eight of his 14 points in the third canto including a booming triple that erected the Kalentong-based school a 66-53 lead with 52 seconds go.
"The important thing was we showed composure," said Jose Rizal coach Vergel Meneses.
The win sent Jose Rizal to solo third with a 5-3 record and will try to close its first round campaign on a bright note by taking on Mapua.
Meneses was quick to say that there is nothing to celebrate just yet.
John Tayongtong wheeled the Generals back into the game after he dropped 10 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter.
Tayongtong though couldn't deliver when it mattered as he hurried a potential game-winning three-pointer that didn't even hit the rim instead of passing out to an open teammate, neophyte Ariel Aguilar.
The Generals fell to 2-6 (win-loss).
The scores:
First Game
Jose Rizal 81- Paniamogan 18, Asuncion 15, Teodoro 14, Sanchez 11, Mabulac 8, Grospe 6, Abdul Wahab 4, Benavides 3, Salaveria 2
EAC 79- Tayongtong 21, Happi 12, Arquero 12, Onwubere 11, Aguilar 10, Serrano 5, Santos 4, Jamon 4, Pascual 0
Quarters: 18-24; 38-44; 66-56; 81-79
Second Game
Arellano U 67- Pinto 19, Jalalon 12, Agovida 8, Holts 7, Salcedo 6, Bangga 4, Gumaru 3, Ciriacruz 2, Palma 2, Caperal 2, Enriquez 2, Nicholls 0, Hernandez 0, Ortega 0, Cadavis 0
St. Benilde 66- Romero 21, Taha 16, Grey 13, Saavedra 7, Pajarillaga 4, Sinco 4, Bartolo 1, Jonson 0, Nayve 0, Argamino 0, Ongteco 0, Altamirano 0
Quarters: 15-8; 30-26; 47-46; 67-66
