Thompson shines in Altas big win over Cardinals

MANILA, Philippines -- Earl Scottie Thompson vowed redemption after a forgettable performance in last year's injury-riddled season.

He meant every single word of it.

Thompson came through with an electrifying performance as he powered Perpetual Help to a merciless 91-57 demolition of Mapua  on Monday in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.

For 35 minutes, the 20-year-old Digos, Davao del Sur native wrecked havoc from practically everywhere and nearly came out with a triple-double effort.

By the end of it, Thompson had career-highs 27 points on an efficient 10-of-17 shooting clip including a pair of booming triples and 16 rebounds he topped with six assists, two steals and the same number of blocks in helping the Altas jumpstart their a what promises to be another impressive year.

"I just want to make up for last year," said Thompson, who struggled last season due to a slipped disk he suffered in a pre-season tournament two years ago, in Filipino.

And Thompson got help in teammate Juneric Baloria, who scattered 26 points that he hopes could boost his stock when he tries his luck in the PBA.

"I want to help the team first but I will not deny I'm dreaming to play in the PBA someday," said the 24-year-old Baloria, one of college basketball's best scorers after he blowtorched reigning UAAP champion La Salle with 41 points in a pre-season tournament.

The pair of strong games didn't escape Perpetual Help coach Aric del Rosario.

"I always talked to them (Thompson and Baloria) and give them advice. I'm happy they came out with these kind of games," said the 74-year-old del Rosario.

Arellano U likewise opened their campaign with a bang after it trounced Lyceum, 93-80, with John Pinto leading the way wigth 20 points.

Perpetual Help's 34-point winning margin was the league's biggest winning margin since the San Beda overran Emilio Aguinaldo, 118-64, three seasons ago.

It was so one-sided that Thompson and Baloria, who wound scoring a whopping 53 points combined, came four points shy of matching the Cardinals' total output.

And Del Rosario, who steered the Santo Tomas Tigers to UAAP titles from 1993-1996 and the Pampanga Dragons in the inaugural season of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association in 1998, hopes the rout could start something bigger for Perpetual Help, which made the Final Four the last two years under his watch.

"We've been in the Final Four the last two seasons so we're hoping to better it this year," said del Rosario.

Mapua, which came from its worst season in years after ending up last with a 2-16 (win-loss) slate, drew strength from Joseph Eriobu's 16 and Andrew Estrella's 14 points but had no answer to the unstoppable tandem of Thompson and Baloria.

It didn't help that the Atoy Co-coached Cardinals missed the services of Josan Nimes, stricken off the roster the last minute after tearing an MCL (medial collateral ligament) just a couple of weeks before the season, and last year's best player Kenneth Ighalo, who graduated.

But the Atoy Co-mentored Cardinals just missed Josan Nimes, who scracthed out of the roster in the last minute after suffering a torn MCL (media collateral ligament) a few weeks before the season started, and Kenneth Ighalo, who played his last season a year back.

In the juniors' division, Mapua slammed Perpetual Help, 83-40, to jumpstart its campaign.

The scores:

First Game

Perpetual Help 91- Thompson 27, Baloria 26, Jolangcob 8, Dizon 6, Arboleda 6, Sadiwa 5, Bantayan 4, Dagangon 4, Tamayo 3, Alano 2, Gallardo 0, Lucente 0, Pido 0

Mapua 57- Eriobu 16, Estrella 14, Cantos 6, Biteng 5, Isit 5, Saitanan 4, Serrano 3, Gabo 2, Villasenor 2, Canaynay 0, Tubiano 0, Layug 0, Galoso 0, Medina 0

Quarterscores: 20-10; 39-26; 65-35; 91-55

Second Game

Arellano U 93- Pinto 20, Hernandez 16, Agovida 13, Nicholls 12, Holts 11, Jalalon 9, Bangga 6, Caperal 4, Salcedo 2, Gumaru 0, Ciriacruz 0, Palma 0, Enriquez 0, Cadavis 0

Lyceum 80- Baltazar 15, Ko 15, Zamora 13, Bulawan 12, Maconocido 9, Gabayani 8, Soliman 5, Lesmoras 2, Malabanan 1, Elmejrab 0

Quarterscores: 16-21; 37-41; 65-58; 93-80