With elite defense, unselfish offense, Altas take on Knights
Perpetual Help stayed pretty much under the radar in the offseason of the NCAA men’s basketball.
Now, with the first run of the group stage done, coach Olsen Racela’s squad is on the Season 88 marquee.
And it seems that everyone’s in awe of the fact that Perpetual emerged as the only unbeaten team before the start of cross-group matches. Everyone, that is, except Racela and the Altas.
“We are a process-oriented team. We’re not results-oriented,” Racela told the Inquirer on Tuesday, on the eve of Perpetual’s duel vs surprise Group B cellar-dweller Letran.
That process has been showing this season.
Perpetual leads the NCAA this season in points allowed (61.8 ppg), about seven points better than the No. 2 team. Its defense is elite: The Altas allow just 34.4% shooting by their opponents (No. 1), and surrender just 16.5 free throws per game (No. 1). Perpetual allows just 23 ppg from the perimeter (No. 2) and 28 ppg inside the paint (No. 2).
And while Perpetual is sixth in rebounding at 44.8 per game, the Altas control the boards in their matches, with an average rebounding margin is +11.25.
Final four as motivation
Racela’s offense is no slouch either. The team may be in the lower half with its 71.6 ppg, but that is anchored on a 73.8 percent assists-to-field goals made ratio.
Perpetual will enter Wednesday’s match against the Knights having topped Group A with a 4-0 (win-loss) record and while the temptation is strong to keep that streak going, Racela’s motivation is simply to put his team in position to battle for a Final Four spot.
“This streak doesn’t mean a whole lot to us,” he said. “That said, we will try to get as many wins as possible to get us in a good position.”
That means the team has zeroed in on Letran. That a win would hike their streak to five is a matter of consequence only—it isn’t the goal.
“As cliche as it may sound, we take it one game at a time,” Racela said.
In Tuesday’s games, T-Mc Ongotan had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while Renzo Abiera led Arellano in scoring as the Chiefs sank the Lyceum Pirates, 92-65.
San Beda ripped Emilio Aguinaldo, 81-64, in the other match.
