ARELLANO PULLS OFF COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN OVER ST. BENILDE
By Maxine Louise Lagman
25 August 2017
Levi dela Cruz led the Arellano Chiefs to overturn the game back to their side and snapped a four-game losing skid with a late come-from-behind win against the College of Saint Benilde, 87-81, Friday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Chiefs faced a 16-point deficit in the second quarter, 39-23, after a split from the stripe by Clement Leutcheu.
However, the former NU Bullpup Dela Cruz is not someone to rest on his laurels as he triggered the Chiefs’ 15-2 run that turned a 69-63 deficit to a 78-71 lead, following Kent Salado’s steal against Gerard Castor, he shot back-to-back triples with only 2:57 ticks left in the game.
“Na-surprise ako sa performance niya (Dela Cruz), Sana maging consistent siya,” said Coach Jerry Codinera.
28 seconds left to play, Dela Cruz, Salado and Lervin Flores sealed the win for Arellano Chiefs, which led them rise to a 3-5 slate in the team standings.
Dela Cruz had a game-high 24 points, while Flores finished with a double-double record of 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks. Salado added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals to go with the win.
On the other hand, Leutcheu paced St. Benilde with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Edward Dixon added 14 points and 14 boards as they took another step downward in the team standings with a 2-7 slate.
St. Benilde had finished its first round campaign with 2-7 standing, while the Arellano Chiefs will face the San Beda Red Lions on Tuesday to cap off their first round campaign.
Follow the writer on Twitter: [social link=”https://twitter.com/meanxi” icon=”62218″]
