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| Arthur Roque went clutch for Perpetual Help. AsiaBasket |
LAS PINAS–Perpetual Help introduced itself to the Bola.TV AsiaBasket Las Piñas Championship with a lesson on finishing a game strong after taking down Corsa Tires, 78-75, on Saturday at the Villar Coliseum here.
Virtually playing with a homecourt advantage considering the proximity of its campus from the arena, Perpetual Help gave the fans in this city a delight as the team completed a rally from 16 points down to beat Corsa.
Corsa began the game strong and opened a 25-11 lead with under two and a half minutes to play in the first quarter.
Perpetual Help responded with a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to seven, but free throws from Justine Sanchez upped Corsa’s lead back to nine, 27-18, at the end of the quarter.
Corsa reasserted its dominance in the second quarter and opened the game’s largest lead at 16, 41-25, with 3:14 remaining. The first half eventually ended with Corsa up by 11, 49-38.
Perpetual Help stormed back in the third quarter and tied the game, 58-all, but a strong finish by Gerald Anderson, who made back-to-back jumpers, kept Corsa ahead, 66-61, at the end of the period.
Perpetual Help completed the turnaround in the fourth quarter, where the team responded to Corsa’s breakaway attempt with a 12-1 run to take the lead, 73-71, with 4:27 left.
Both teams exchanged baskets from thereon, but a wide-open Arthur Roque received a pass from John Abis for the go-ahead three with 3.7 seconds left for the 78-75 lead.
Sanchez still tried to force overtime, but his tough three-pointer only went airball as time expired on Corsa.
Carlo Ferreras led Perpetual Help with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Roque finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and one block.
Sanchez and Anderson each tallied 18 markers, while Drick Acosta chipped in 15 for Corsa, which fell to 1-1 in Group A action.
Box Scores:
Perpetual Help 78 – Ferreras 21, Roque 15, Abis 11, Nitura 10, Pagaran 9, Omega 4, Ramirez 3, Barcuma 2, Boral 2, Sevilla 1, Orga 0, Nunez 0
Corsa 75 – Anderson 18, Sanchez 18, Acosta 15, Estacio 8, Ndong 8, Ortega 5, Cunanan 3, Pili 0, Ollano 0, Pagulayan 0, Kapunan 0, Lepalam 0, Carr 0
Quarterscores: 18-27, 38-49, 61-66, 78-75
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