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| T-Mc Ongotan was clutch just like his namesake. NCAA |
MANILA—Arellano relied on the clutch heroics of T-Mc Ongotan to beat Emilio Aguinaldo College 91-87 in their NCAA men's basketball duel on Tuesday night at the FilOil Centre in San Juan City.
Ongotan kept the Chiefs in the game with a huge corner three that tied the game up at 84-all, but bigger moments came within the last two minutes.
Ongotan crossed over Joseph Nunag that freed up some space for Basti Valencia to take the go-ahead three for an 88-87 cushion with 40.2 seconds left.
Jude Bagay missed a quick drive to the basket on the next play, and Ongotan saved the ball to Ern-Jay Geronimo.
Ongotan eventually got the ball back and scored a runner with 12.8 seconds remaining for a 90-87 count.
Wilmar Oftana, who was struggling all game long, had a golden opportunity to send the match to overtime, but his three-point attempt rattled out, and Geronimo iced the win with a split from the foul line.
Ongotan finished with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, five rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block to lead Arellano, which tied Letran on top of Group B at 2-0.
King Vinoya added 15 points on 7-for-12 field goals, four rebounds, one assist, and one block.
Bagay led EAC, which dropped to 0-2, with 16 points, eight rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
The scores:
Arellano 91 - Ongotan 26, Vinoya 15, Valencia 14, Cabotaje 8, Borromeo 6, Camay 6, Geronimo 5, Manansala 5, Buenaventura 3, Libang 2, Hernal 1, Langit 0, Flores 0, Abiera 0
EAC 87 - Bagay 16, Ochavo 15, M. Raymundo 14, Shanoda 14, Nunag 12, Castillo 8, Mundas 4, Oftana 2, Coronel 2, H. Raymundo 0, Baniqued 0, Bonus 0, Namoro 0, Lanceta 0
Quarters: 25-24, 47-44, 68-70, 91-87
