FilOil: Late free throws save Arellano from JRU

Arellano University Chiefs point guard Rocky Acidre clasped his hands close to his mouth after Jose Rizal University’s final shot at the buzzer bumped the top of the backboard, while the rest of his teammates all breathed a sigh of relief. Down by 12 points in the third quarter, the Chiefs relied on the heroics of Acidre and quiet offense by forward Ralph Salcedo to mount a comeback against Nate Matute and the Heavy Bombers, winning late, 76-74, Saturday in the FilOil Flying V Pre-season Tournament at the Arena in San Juan.   The game’s final minute was a clinic on free throws, or how to miss them, as both teams flubbed crucial charities to seal the game. After Matute slithered through a forest of defenders to trim his side’s deficit to a single point, 74-73, Acidre split his freebies to grow Arellano’s lead back to two, 75-73. On the next JRU offensive, point guard Alex Almario got fouled on a drive and made a split of his own. Then Salcedo, on the receiving end of a desperation foul, flubbed both his free throws. Luckily Fil-Canadian forward James Forrester stole JRU’s inbounds pass, earning him a foul and his team another 1-of-2 performance, 76-74. It was enough, to clinch the game, as JRU could not connect on their final desperation attempt. Ironically, the Heavy Bombers actually led for most of the game early on, as Matute’s lane drives and jump-shooting constantly confused Arellano’s defense, which shifted between zones and full court presses. Pick-and-roll plays between power forward John Lopez and Almario also resulted in 15 points for the veteran big, six coming off alley-oop plays and pinpoint passing. Matute’s herky-jerky style of play gave the Heavy Bombers a huge boost in the first two quarters, scoring half of his team’s 38 points during the first twenty minutes. Acidre’s shooting wiped out Matute’s offensive efforts though, as he hit eight straight points in the third quarter. After a Larry Malanday triple, the Chiefs inched to within a point of a comeback in the third, 51-50, and from then on, it was back-and-forth action, leading up to the frantic final moments. Veteran floor general Acidre finished with 20 points on 8-11 shooting, while Salcedo notched 19 to give Arellano their third win of the tournament. Matute scored only two points in the second half, totaling 19, as the Heavy Bombers notched their second loss, their first being a 51-point blowout against the group-leading National U. Bulldogs. Both teams’ respective head coaches, Koy Banal of AU and Vergel Meneses of JRU, were not present during the game. - AMD, GMA News The scores: AU 76 – Acidre 20, Salcedo 19, Forrester 14, Pinto 8, Caperal 6, Malanday 5, Hernandez 2, Bangga 2, Ciriacruz 0, Lunas 0, Casino 0, Suarez 0, Palma 0, Valera 0 JRU 74 – Matute 21, Lopez 15, Villarias 12, Almario 9, Munez 4, Salaveria 2, Mabulac 2, Camasura 2, Dela Paz 2, Maniamogan 2, Maconocido 2, Monserat 1, Carampil 0 Quarter scores: 14-20, 29-38, 53-61, 75-74 FilOil 051212 AU vs JRU