BOOMING triples by Donald Gumaru, Jiovani Jalalon and Kent Salado in the final stretches of the fourth quarter carried the Arellano University Chiefs to a 95-82 demolition of the Mapua Cardinals yesterday in the 92nd National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball tournament.
With the victory the Chiefs—who got a game-high 35 points from Jalalon and 15 from Gumaru and Salado—grabbed the top spot in the standings with the San Beda Red Lions behind at no. 2.
Gumaru played an excellent game at The Arena in San Juan right on his 24th birthday.
Trailing by five in the last seven minutes, Gumaru and company unloaded their treys during huge 17-0 blast which handed the Chiefs their 14th win in the 17 games.
“Coach told us to keep on shooting. That is also what my teammates told me. They said the shots will fall. So I just did my best,” said Gumaru, who struggled with his shooting and was held scoreless in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals bucked the absence of team captain Francis Munsayac and Sidney Onwubere to pull off a 65-62 triumph over the College of St. Blazers.
They handed CSB its 17th loss in a row, giving them the league’s worst record for most losses in a single season.
Jorem Morada scored two free throws at late in the game to hand the Generals their sixth win against 11 losses.
In the last game of the evening Amiel Soberano topscored for 18 points while Davon Potts added 15 for the San Beda Red Lions which waylaid the University of Perpetual Help Altas, 84-75, to formally clinch a twice-to beat incentive in the Final Four with their 13-4 record.
Soberano and Potts had eight points apiece as the Red Lions moved away from a three-point 58-55 lead at the end of the third for a nine-point lead in the end.
If they beat the Chiefs in their game on Thursday, the Red Lions can still secure the no. 1 seeding.
Games Thursday (at the Arena in San Juan)
10 a.m. EAC vs Mapua (jrs)
11:45 a.m. JRU vs San Sebastian (jrs)
2 p.m. JRU vs San Sebastian (srs)
4 p.m. Letran vs EAC (srs)