On the second-to-the-last day of the NCAA Season 101 Men’s Basketball elimination round, Arellano University and the College of Saint Benilde both came away with wins on November 21 at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan City.
T-Mc Ongotan and Renzo Abiera Goes Clutch as Arellano Gets #2 Seed in Group A
For the first game of Friday afternoon, it was Mapúa University up against Arellano University.
What’s at stake? Being the #2 seed in Group A and a Twice to Beat Advantage in the playoffs.
The Mapúa Cardinals opened the fourth quarter with a fiery 9-0 blast behind Cyrus Cuenco, pushing Mapua ahead 54-45 with 6:45 left. Drex Delos Reyes later padded the edge to 58-53 as the defending champions looked poised to hold on.
But instead of folding, the Chiefs mounted a determined comeback, stringing together a 7-0 run that included Renzo Abiera’s booming three-pointer, flipping the lead in Arellano’s favor at 60-58 with just over a minute remaining.
Abiera’s shot would normally have been enough, but the Chiefs still needed to win by at least four to claim the playoff bonus. After a tense exchange that saw Arellano commit a shot-clock violation with 15 seconds left, T-Mc Ongotan responded on the next defensive sequence by intercepting a pass from Yam Concepcion and drawing a foul on the fastbreak.
He calmly nailed both free throws, giving the Chiefs the crucial four-point cushion.
Cuenco had a final attempt to cut the deficit and swing the incentive back to Mapua, but his jumper bounced off, sealing the victory and the needed point differential for Arellano.
FINAL SCORE: ARELLANO CHIEFS 62 – 58 MAPUA CARDINALS
Ongotan delivered 15 points, six rebounds, four steals, and three assists, playing a central role once again in the Chiefs’ endgame surge. Abiera finished with 12 markers and seven boards, hitting both of his big triples in the last three minutes of the game. Delos Reyes led the Cardinals with 13 and 10, though no other Mapua player reached double figures.
The win capped a stunning turnaround for Arellano, a team that once seemed headed toward a play-in scenario but instead closed group play with a four-game winning streak for a 7-6 record.
With their twice-to-beat bonus locked in, Arellano will face the Letran Knights in the crossover quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA officially secured the No. 1 seed in Group A and awaits the winner of the JRU–EAC play-in matchup.
Mapua, which entered the match having defeated Arellano in their first meeting 90-87, finished the eliminations also at 7-6 but lost the tiebreak due to point differential. The defeat dropped them to third place in Group A.
The defending champions Cardinals will battle De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde in the quarters and will need to beat the Blazers twice to advance.
Allen Liwag Returns and Gives Benilde a Win in the Last Game of the Elimination Round
With the Playoff matchups and seedings already solidified, this game in Group B makes a no bearing match already.
That being said, College of Saint Benilde Head Coach Charles Tiu decided to rest his key players which are: Tony Ynot, Justin Sanchez and Shawn Umali.
Luckily for the Blazers, reigning MVP Allen Liwag comes back from his shoulder injury and is available to play against Emilio Aguinaldo College.
EAC controlled much of the first half, surging ahead 47-37 before stretching the gap to 11 in the third period. The Blazers, however, gradually regained their footing.
By the end of the third frame, they had trimmed the deficit to two and carried that momentum into the final quarter, unleashing a decisive 14-4 run that flipped the game in their favor. Their defense also stiffened late, limiting the Generals to just 15 points in the payoff period.
FINAL SCORE: CSB BLAZERS 87 – 82 EAC GENERALS
With several starters resting, Benilde’s bench delivered. Matthew Oli fired 14 points, while Jio Gonzaga chipped in 12. The win stretched the Blazers’ streak to three and solidified their second-place finish in Group B with a 9-4 card.
EAC, meanwhile, fell to 4-9 and slipped to the bottom of Group B. Despite the loss, the Generals still have a pathway to the quarterfinals through the play-in.
Jude Bagay paced them with 25 points, while Deo Lucero contributed 20.
