Manila, Philippines - Rocky Acidre fired all but two of his 22 points in the second half, including two charities that secured Arellano U’s surprise 85-82 victory over fancied Jose Rizal U in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.
Held to just two points in the first half, Acidre, a 20-year-old junior from San Jose, Leyte, waxed hot with 13 points in the fourth quarter to help power the Chiefs to what was only their fourth win against six defeats.
“What can I say, Rocky (Acidre) is one of our veterans and can be relied upon in the clutch,” said Arellano U coach Koy Banal.
Arellano’s victory also foiled Jose Rizal’s bid to re-join San Beda on top as the Bombers fell to 7-3.
Acidre highlighted his endgame heroics with a triple that shattered the 75-all and then set up Fil-Canadian James Forrester for a lay-up in the next play to give Arellano a five-point cushion with less than three minutes to go.
“I wasn’t instructed by my coach (Banal) to shoot in the fourth quarter, it just so happened that I got the opportunities and converted it,” said Acidre.
The Chiefs thus bounced back from a forgettable performance Thursday when they scored just three fourth quarter points and ended up getting drubbed by the Mapua Cardinals, 49-68.
“It was my fault that we lost in the last game, not the players. After that, I kept telling the team to stay positive,” said Banal.
The Bombers actually pulled to within one, 82-83, as Byron Villarias completed a rare four-point play with 15 seconds to go.
But the Bombers fouled Acidre to stop the clock and latter rose to the challenge by canning a pair of pressure-packed charities to preserve the win.
The Bombers still had one last chance to send the game into overtime but Nate Matute, who finished with 21 points, including three triples, hit nothing but air as time expired.
Arellano outscored JRU in the third quarter, 28-17, to break a 34-all count and post a 62-51 bulge entering the fourth quarter.
Then Acidre took over.
Meanwhile, Perpetual Help drew strength from Jett Vidal as it fended off St. Benilde’s furious fightback to escape with a 78-74 victory yesterday and jump into a three-way tie at second place with San Sebastian and Jose Rizal in the second game.
In juniors’ action, Robert Bolick stepped up in the absence of Mario Bonleon as he came through with a triple-double effort to power La Salle-Greenhills to a 95-76 victory over Perpetual.
Bolick had a season high 41 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and topped his all-around effort with a game-high six steals plus two blocks for La Salle-GH, which improved to 7-3.
Bonleon is with the Energen Pilipinas right now competing in the FIBA-Asia Under-18 Championship in Mongolia.
In other high school result, Jose Rizal edged Arellano U, 53-48, to stay in the Final Four hunt.