Luis Pablo and Ethan Alian sparked a late rally as College of Saint Benilde-La Salle Green Hills turned back Arellano University, 73-69, in the NCAA Season 98 juniors basketball tournament on Wednesday.
LSGH booked back-to-back wins to improve to 2-2 while Arellano remained winless at 0-4.
Down 69-62, Pablo and Alian connived to instigate a 9-0 closing run with the former knocking down two consecutive baskets that gave them back the lead, 70-69, with 1:33 left in the clock.
Ivan Panapanaan then grabbed a crucial defensive rebound for the Braves before his teammate Naren Mallari lost control of the leather and turned it over, giving the Greenies a chance to make another basket.
Alian completed a putback bucket off a miss from Seven Gagate before he sealed the deal with a split at the charity stripe.
Pablo finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, and one block while Alian chipped in 16 markers, seven boards, seven assists, and one steal. Gagate, who was limited to one point at the half, still put up 13 rebounds alongside seven points and two assists.
LSGH will look to make it three wins in a row when it faces San Beda University on Friday while Arellano takes on Colegio de San Juan de Letran later in the day.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
