Altas get help from shock troopers, trounce Pirates

Games Friday

12 p.m. – San Sebastian vs San Beda (jrs./srs)

4 p.m. – Jose Rizal vs Arellano U (srs/jrs)

MANILA, Philippines – Perpetual Help drew some added firepower from Justine Alano, Joel Jolangcob and John Ylagan as it overwhelmed Lyceum, 78-62, on Wednesday to jump back to solo third spot in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

Alano churned out his season-best 15 points, Jolangcob added 10 and seldom-used Ylagan made a cameo but worthwhile appearance by burying two booming triples in just six minutes of action in the third quarter in helping the Altas improve to 4-2 (win-loss) and ending a two-game slide.

"I'm one of the veterans of this team so I'm embarrassed when I played bad in our last game," said the 22-year-old Alano, who struggled miserably by finishing with just five points in a stinging 97-85 defeat to the Arellano U Chiefs last week, in Filipino.

"So I really made a conscious effort to have an impact in this game," added Alano, who is on his fifth and final tour of duty with the Las Pinas-based school.

The diminutive but big-hearted Jolangcob spiked his scoring with eight boards, three assists, a steal and a block.

Juneric Baloria was in his usual shooting mode as he erupted for a game-high 23 points while Earl Scottie Thompson came three assists shy of posting his second triple-double effort of the season with 13 points, 11 caroms and seven assists.

Thompson, a proud son of Digos, Davao del Sur, spiked his spectacular game with two steals and the same number of blocks.

Harold Arboleda, the team's third highest scorer, struggled on this game as he finished with just nine points.

Thankfully, Alano, Jolangcob and Ylagan stepped up solidly.

"That's what I keep telling my players to contribute and help because Baloria, Thompson and Arboleda can't do it alone," said Perpetual Help mentor Aric del Rosario.

Wilson Baltazar led Lyceum with 15 points, including 12 in the third period when the Pirates tried to mount a comeback.

Cameroonian swingman Guy Mbida fired 12 points while Joseph Gabayni bullied his way to 12 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks but Lyceum was just no match to Perpetual Help's firepower.

The silence of Dexter Zamora and Shane Ko, who was limited to just nine and four points after averaging in double digits in their first six outings, also hastened the Bonnie Tan-coached Pirates' downfall.

Lyceum thus slid from third to fourth with a 4-3 mark.

The scores:

First Game

Perpetual (78) – Baloria 23, Alano 15, Thompson 13, Jolangcob 10, Arboleda 9, Ylagan 6, Gallardo 2, Oliveria 0, Dizon 0, Bantayan 0.

LPU (62) – Baltazar 15, Gabayni 12, Mbida 12, Zamora 9, Bulawan 6, Ko 4, Taladua 2, Elmejrab 2, Soliman 0, Lesmoras 0, Malabanan 0, Maconocido 0.

Quarterscores: 15-11, 38-29, 56-46, 78-62.