UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System Dalta further compounded defending champion Letran’s woes with a 74-59 victory in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Jun Roque was solid for the Altas with 22 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks while Jielo Razon continued his rise from a sluggish start with 12 points, four assists and three boards.

With their seventh consecutive defeat, the hopes of the winless Knights of reaching the Final Four for the fifth straight season are slowly slipping away.

Perpetual tied San Sebastian, which pulled off a 86-70 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College in the second game, at 3-4 in seventh spot.

It was the Generals’ worst loss of the season.

College of Saint Benilde later forced a three-way tie with EAC and idle Jose Rizal University in fourth place with a 72-66 conquest of Arellano University.

Coach Myk Saguiguit had nothing but praises for Roque, who unloaded all of his six triples in the second half that keyed the Altas’ second consecutive win.

“Si Jun nagbe-benefit kasi magaling siyang humanap ng puwesto eh. Lagi siyang available doon sa spots na nira-run naming sets. Luckily, siguro hindi rin eh, kasi shooter naman talaga siya, he’s getting the shots in,” said Saguiguit.

Raymart Escobido had 23 points, three rebounds, three steals and two asists while Jessie Sumoda produced a double-double outing of 14 points and 10 rebounds as the Stags rediscovered their winning ways.

“Napakalaking bagay noon na magtiwala kami sa bawat isa. Alam mo naman sa kahit anong bagay, ang importante ay nagtitiwala ka. You cannot do something kung walang tiwala sa iyo yung mga nasa paligid mo,” said first-year San Sebastian coach John Kallos.
The scores:

First game

SSC-R (86) – Escobido 23, Sumoda 14, Una 13, Calahat 9, Are 7, Re. Gabat 7, Desoyo 6, Ra. Gabat 5, Felebrico 2, Shanoda 0.
EAC (70) – Gurtiza 20, Maguliano 14, Robin 13, Cosejo 12, Ochavo 2, Bacud 2, Quinal 2, Tolentino 2, Angeles 2, Cosa 1, Balowa 0, Umpad 0, Luciano 0, Ednilag 0.
Quarterscores: 19-13; 42-31; 62-49; 86-70

Second game

Perpetual (74) – Roque 22, Razon 12, Pagaran 12, Abis 6, Barcuma 5, Omega 5, Nitura 3, Ferreras 3, Orgo 2, Nunez 2, Gelsano 2, Cuevas 0.
Letran (59) – Cuajao 15, Reyson 12, Monje 10, Ariar 5, Guarino 4, Fajardo 4, Nunag 4, Batallier 2, Santos 2, Garupil 0, Bautista 0, Jumao-as 0, Bojorcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 11-13; 21-25; 44-39; 74-59

Third game

Benilde (72) – Oczon 16, Carlos 15, Sangco 12, Nayve 11, Turco 4, Jalalon 4, Arciaga 3, Gozum 2, Morales 2, Mara 2, Corteza 1, Marcos 0, Lepalam 0, Jarque 0.
Arellano (66) – Valencia 16, Ongotan 13, Capulong 12, Talampas 8, Sunga 7, Villarente 3, Dayrit 22, Mallari 2, Geronimo 0, Abastillas 0, Yanes 0.
Quarterscores: 16-12; 26-36; 51-47; 72-66.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Theodore P. Jurado