Arellano showed steely nerves and overcame the odds after pulling off a 72-69 upset win against defending champion Letran in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Sunday, Sept. 18, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Chiefs rallied from a nine-point deficit bridging the third and fourth periods as Shane Menina, despite struggling from the field with a 1-of-7 shooting clip, showed the way and provided the spark they needed en route to a sweet 3-1 record.
Menina dished out huge plays and tallied 10 of the team's 18 assists, while his key three-pointer midway through the final frame cut Arellano's deficit down to one only, 58-57, before Cade Flores joined in the fray to continue their fiery run.
Flores led the Chiefs with 18 points and nine rebounds, Axel Doromal chalked up 14 points and five rebounds, Wilmar Oftana posted 13 points and five rebounds while Joshua Abastillas added 10 points.
Menina, for his part, finished with seven points built on the lone three-pointer and a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line.
"Napakasarap maglaro 'pag 'yong kalaban mo defending champion, malalakas na team. Doon lalabas 'yong laro niyo," said Arellano head coach Cholo Martin. "Sunod lang kayo (players) kung ano sistema natin baka sakaling manalo."
The Chiefs unloaded a commanding 15-2 run capped by a Flores conversion with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, 63-58, but it was Menina who took charge in that spurt and showed his veteran presence as a point guard.
Aside from Flores, Abastillas also delivered key baskets as Menina easily converted from the free throw line which enabled the Chiefs to capture their biggest lead of the game by nine points, 69-60, with 2:32 left.
The Knights had a lot of time to regroup as Louie Sangalang and King Caralipio connived in the paint and became the team's cornerstone when Fran Yu couldn't find his shooting touch when it mattered the most.
A Sangalang putback, with 30 ticks left, pumped life for Letran as the defending champion only trailed by three points at that point, 70-67.
Nerve-wracking moments ensued in the following plays when Jade Talampas split his free throw with 24.7 seconds remaining to put Arellano up by four at 71-67.
Yu drew a crucial foul from Talampas at the three-point line but only managed to drain two of those after missing his second attempt.
It all boiled down to the clutch plays in the charity stripes as Doromal, with 15.5 seconds left, also split his shot but Arellano still led by three points, 72-69.
The odds, however, seemed to be really in favor of the Chiefs as Brent Paraiso's layup, Caralipio's putback, and Kurt Reyson's potential game-tying three-pointer in the next plays for the Knights did not make it.
Sangalang paced the Knights with a double-double performance of 19 points and 16 rebounds while Caralipio hammered down 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Letran suffered its first loss of the season and fell to a 1-1 record as it also marks its first defeat since yielding to San Beda in Game 2 of the NCAA Finals during Season 95.