Assisi Doves beat NCRAA defending champs Arellano Chiefs, 72-66

The St. Francis of Assisi College Doves continued to fly above the rest of the field in the 15th SMART-National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) men's basketball tournament following a 72-66 decision over defending champion Arellano University Chiefs at the Emilio Aguinaldo College Sports Complex Thursday. Raymund Ilagan, Leomer Losentes, and Michael Rabor combined their efforts in the Doves' last-quarter assault, propelling the Gabby Velasco-coached Doves to their fifth straight win, the league said in a statement. The Chiefs kept matters close after Jerome Agustin fired a jumper at the end of the third quarter to tie the count at 47-all. They then held the Doves scoreless for some two minutes before penetrations from Angel Celada and Ciriacruz pushed the Chiefs in front, 51-47. Losentes tallied 11 points, with his second of two triples in the final period enabling the Doves to push themselves further ahead by seven, 70-63. Rabor finished with nine points, including a putback off Ilagan's miss with still 46 ticks to go, for the final count. Ilagan showed the way with 16 points, including two charities with 2:06 left to extend the Doves' lead, 67-63. This touched off a 10-0 windup by the Doves, who handed the Chiefs their second setback in five matches. The Chiefs dropped to fifth, with a 3-2 mark, the same record of the La Salle-Dasmarinas Patriots. Ilagan's freebies came right after Gio Ciriacruz drove in to hand the Chiefs their last taste of the lead, 63-62. Jaguars vs Lightnings, 75-73 In the other game, the Philippine School of Business Administration Jaguars pulled off a 75-73 upset win over the Asian College of Science and Technology Lightnings. Mac Limpat's jumper broke a 73-all deadlock and handed the Jaguars their third triumph in fourth matches. The Philip Cezar-coached Jaguars moved into fourth position behind the Philippine Merchant Marine School Mariners, who are now in second at 4-1. The Lightnings fell to third at 4-2. - GMANews.TV