Salcedo sends Chiefs to No. 1; Altas score

Games tomorrow

12 noon – Mapua vs St. Benilde (Jrs/Srs)

4 p.m. – Jose Rizal vs San Sebastian (Srs/Jrs)

MANILA, Philippines - Ralph Salcedo came through with a steal and a basket in the closing seconds as Arellano U pulled off a shock 78-76 victory over San Beda to wrest the solo lead in the 90th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

With the game tied at 76 with 9.2 seconds left, Salcedo stole off San Beda rookie Ranbill Tongco then capped his endgame heroics by converting on a feed from Jiovani Jalalon as the Chiefs moved closer to stealing the top seeding in the Final Four from the reigning four-peat champion Red Lions.

“This is a dream come true for us,” said coach Jerry Codiñera after steering the Chiefs to their first-ever Final Four stint with a 13th win against four losses.

Arellano can even clinch the No. 1 spot with another victory over ousted Lyceum at the close of its elims assignment on Oct. 8.

San Beda finished with a 13-5 card but still assured itself of a twice-to-beat edge in the semis even if it winds up at No. 2.

Dioncee Holts led the Chiefs with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Keith Agovida, Isiah Ciriacruz and John Pinto added 17, 12 and 10 points, respectively.

The Chiefs also spoiled San Beda’s Ola Adeogun’s monster 23-point, 19-rebound game.

Earlier, Perpetual Help used a big fourth-quarter run to frustrate ousted San Sebastian College, 92-76, and assure itself of a playoff for the last Final Four berth.

Scottie Thompson, Juneric Baloria and Harold Arboleda took over in the final 10 minutes as the Altas posted a scorching 36-point windup while holding the Stags to 16 points to turn a four-point third quarter deficit into a runaway victory.

Perpetual thus closed out its double-round elims campaign with a 12-6 for a crack at one of the last two seats in the semis.

Thompson fell one rebound and two assists short of another triple double performance, topscoring with a whopping 29 points while Baloria and Arboleda, set to play with NLEX in the PBA after the NCAA, backed him up with 24 and 16 points, respectively.

The troika sparked the fourth quarter Perpetual blitz that saw Las Piñas-based squad outrun and outgun the Stags to erase a 56-50 deficit and post the runaway victory.

Thompson sizzled with 11 points, Arboleda fired 10 and Baloria added eight in that torrid Altas run.

“We played a more aggressive game in the fourth quarter and that changed the pace of the contest,” said Perpetual Help coach Aric del Rosario, who hopes to steer the team to their third straight Final Four appearance.

Led by team captain Jovit dela Cruz and rookie Jerick Fabian with 18 points apiece, the Stags appeared headed for a big upset after taking control from the second to the third quarters. They still led, 63-58, early in the final quarter but Thompson, Arboleda and Baloria took charge to turn thing around.

The Stags fell to 5-12.