Altas fuel strong start with fourth straight win; Knights finally crack win column
Perpetual Help continued its surprise run in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament, improving to an unblemished 4-0 (win-loss) start in Group A after defeating Arellano, 72-67, at Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.
While that win may say something on paper, coach Olsen Racela is choosing not to look at it any more than part of the team’s objective of making things less challenging in the latter stages of the tournament.
“This isn’t really a statement, but we’re trying to get as many wins as possible to get in a better position in the next round,” he said.
“Yes, having four wins is a big thing, but we can’t rely on that. We still have nine games. There’s a long way to go. We can’t relax and we’ll keep going.”
The Altas showed they have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Group A teams, with wins over San Sebastian, Lyceum and, more importantly, defending champion Mapua.
But beating those three squads—all by double figures—had little to do with their offense as it did with their elite league-leading defense. Perpetual is surrendering the fewest points per season at 61.8 points per game, about six points better than the next-best defensive squads. And they’re doing it with consistent defensive rating game-by-game splits of 79.9, 82.9, 85.5 and 85.5 for a league-best 83.5.
Patrick Sleat exemplified this focus on defense, mixing three blocks and a steal to his team-best 12 points against the Chiefs.
And their offense is backing that defense well.
“Coach wants us to create for one another. Because that’s what the coach wants, that’s what we do inside the court,” he said.
“You can even see it outside the court because our bond grows stronger every time,” he added.
Helping Sleat overcome the Chiefs were Mark Gojo Cruz and Josiah Alcantara, who finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
“We had to play possession by possession,” said Gojo Cruz, who finished the team captain. “We didn’t need to run with them in transition. We just reminded each other to stay focused and take the best shot.”
Arellano dropped to a 1-2 record. The Chiefs are the only team that Perpetual didn’t beat by double figures so far.
Perpetual will face a stern test this Wednesday with a showdown against a Letran squad that has finally found its form.
Deo Cuajao paced the Knights for its first win of the tournament with an 84-80 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College.
“Earlier, when I saw one of my shots go in, I knew it was going to keep going,” he said after scoring 23 points with six buckets from the three-point area.
Cuajao’s shooting from beyond the arc braced Letran’s vast improvement there. The Knights made 35.7 percent of their shots against the Generals after making just 21.7 percent in their first three losses.
Jonathan Manalili and Aaron Buensalida both tallied double-doubles in the victory to help Cuajao. Manalili registered 12 points and 13 assists while Buensalida turned in 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“Of course, cohesiveness and chemistry take time,” said Letran coach Allen Ricardo. “I’m hoping little by little, we can start peaking as a team.”
