FilOil: Omorogbe drops 28 as Altas ravage JRU

With his team trapped at the bottom of Group A standings, University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Altas coach Aric Del Rosario decided he had enough, and his boys regrouped to win big against the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers 84-59, on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Second-year centerpiece Nosa Omorogbe scored 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace the Altas, while Justine Alano added 14 points and nine rebounds to give the Altas their first win of the season. Perpetual passed and played the pass well, dishing 16 assists and committing only 10 turnovers, severely limiting JRU’s fast-paced offense. The Altas also made 22 out of 44 shots inside the paint and converted 10 three-pointers to edge out the pesky Heavy Bombers. The Altas finally tallied win number one after four games, for a 1-3 record, while the Bombers matched them in the standings with the same record. Coach Del Rosario fielded Chris Elopre, Juneric Baloria, Harold Arboleda, Justine Alano, and Kevin Oliveria, while JRU mentor Vergel Meneses sent out Michael Mabulac, Nick Abanto, Clint Nunez, Phillip Paniamogan, and Gio Lasquety. The lead swung back-and-forth in the first quarter until Nick Omorogbe entered the game. The Nigerian scored seven straight points to give Perpetual a lead of 20-15. An inside stab by Mabulac cut made it a single-possession game however, 20-17, after the first 12 minutes. Perpetual extended its lead in the second, drawing contributions from Juneric Baloria and G-jay Ylagan, the latter contributing five straight points to make it 33-23. Reserve guard Joel Jolangcob then nailed two consecutive triples from the right wing to keep the Heavy Bombers honest, 41-25. JRU scored six straight points off one Jed Salaveria drive and two lay-ups by Paniamogan, but Perpetual regained their composure in the last minute, as Alano hit a lay-in and Elopre connected on a three to maintain a double-digit lead heading to the second half, 46-31. The Altas made 18 of their 39 shots (46 percent) while out-rebounding the Heavy Bombers, 24-20. They made seven out of their 17 triples, good for 41 percent, and scored 12 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds in the first half. Perpetual Help's ball-handling was also fluid, as the team committed only two turnovers while dishing out eight assists. Omorogbe led his team in scoring in the first half, making 14 points off 11 shots. Following him were Alano and Jolangcob, who had eight and six points respectively. JRU struggled to make anything from downtown, (2-of-8) and failed to convert any turnover points, a staple of Coach Meneses’ offense. With a lack of turnovers on UPHSD’s end rendering JRU’s offense dead, the Altas continued to roll, drawing contributions from their starters. A triple by Arboleda put Perpetual up by 18 points, 53-38, prompting Coach Meneses to call a quick timeout. JRU’s guards continued to struggle, as the Altas' zone quashed quick drives while the perimeter shots continued to fall short. Paolo Pontejos, JRU’s leading scorer, missed all his triples in the third quarter, scoring just four points off tough lay-ins in the paint, with his last two points in the third stopping the bleeding at 61-41. Coach Del Rosario told Jolangcob to keep dropping the ball to Omorogbe, which paid off, as a short jumper put them up by 23 points, 66-43. The third canto closed at 66-45 after a lay-up by guard Dave Sanchez. The beatdown continued in the fourth, as the Bombers could not get anything going offensively. Coach Meneses benched Pontejos, Mabulac and Salaveria, and fielded his 12th men along with Lasquety. The lead reached 27 points after a drive by Omorogbe. Frustrated with the huge deficit, Nick Abanto flailed his fists wildly after a post-miss scrum. The move paid off for Abanto, who took advantage of the tense mood to draw an unsportsmanlike foul from Alano. Abanto sank the free throws, but the game was a lost cause, with the score at 74-49 with three minutes left in the quarter. With the chippy play going on, the referees decided to call a double foul on a wild collision between Arboleda and Ervin Grospe. Coach Del Rosario still had his starters fielded, along with Omorogbe, until the end, as the Altas went on to win by 25, 84-59. The Altas’ deft ballhandling defused the Bombers’ offense, as Jose Rizal U converted only six turnover points all-in-all. They made only 2-of-14 attempts from three-point land (14 percent) and shot 34 percent overall. Pontejos, who had been leading the team in scoring in their first three games, was checked. He missed all six of his three-point attempts and scored only nine points while grabbing eight rebounds. Only Mabulac scored in double digits for the Bombers with 12 points and six rebounds. Paniamogan and Lasquety scored eight points each. Defense has been a concern for the struggling Altas, who allowed NU and FEU to shoot a whopping 62 percent prior to this outing. Worse, Perpetual’s offense failed to keep up with their foes, as the Altas shot a paltry 29 percent against National U and a middling 35 percent against Far Eastern U. In their game against the Chiefs, they clocked in at a pedestrian 26 percent. Much of their offensive woes come from coach Del Rosario’s constant roster tweaking, with the focus of giving Omorogbe some comfort in his system. The Nigerian is the only Alta to average more than 30 minutes per game (33.7 minutes per game in their first three games), something that paid off in this match. For JRU, former San Beda Red Lion Paolo Pontejos has been a revelation. Despite coming off the bench in all their games, the Heavy Bomber has averaged 18.3 points in their firs three outings, hitting 45.4 percent from three-point land. Outside Pontejos, however, no one has been a consistent offensive threat as Paniamogan, Balagtas, Lasquety, and Mabulac have only had moments. - RAF/AMD, GMA News The scores: UPHSD – Omorogbe 28, Alano 14, Jolangcob 9, Arboleda 8, Elopre 8, Baloria 5, Ylagan 4, Lucente 4, Dizon 3, Oliveria 0, Bantayan 0 JRU – Mabulac 12, Pontejos 9, Lasquety 8, Paniamogan 8, Abanto 5, Diego 5, Salaveria 4, Sanchez 3, Balagtas 3, Gozum 2, Munez 0, Dela Paz 0, Grospe 0, Medrano 0 Quarter scoring: 20-17, 46-31, 66-45, 84-59