Jelo Razon waxed hot in the fourth period and provided the much-needed spark for Perpetual, escaping with a hard-earned 61-57 win against San Sebastian in the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Razon scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including two pivotal three-pointers, which enabled the Altas to regroup and take lead with four minutes to play.
Perpetual trailed most of the game but closed in on San Sebastian and negated Kenneth Villapando's outburst down to the last six minutes when Razon took over, beginning with his reverse layup to put the match within three, 54-51.
Romel Calahat, however, responded with a three of his own to regain a six-point lead in the ensuing play, before Razon, who also grabbed five rebounds, caught fire and drained a three-pointer -- which was Perpetual's first field goal from beyond the arc -- with five minutes to go.
Lean Martel joined in the fray for the comeback before Razon hit the go-ahead triple with a stop and pop off the transition to finally put the Altas up by two, 59-57.
The Stags couldn't find their scoring groove in the next plays which paved the way for Martel to find Mark Omega, who also chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds, in the paint in what turned out to be the final basket of the match with 3:29 left.
No field goals were made in that whole span even as both squads have an equal exchange of possessions as the Altas had the last laugh and improved to a 3-3 record.
Marcus Nitura also had nine points and 12 rebounds for Perpetual.
Villapando, for his part, paced the Stags, who fell to a 2-3 slate, with 14 points and eight rebounds while Calajat posted 11 points and 12 rebounds.
The Scores:
PERPETUAL 61 -- Razon 14, Nitura 9, Omega 9, Flores 8, Abis 6, Martel 5, Barcuma 4, Egan 3, Roque 2, Boral 1, Ferreras 0, Cuevas 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 57 -- Villapando 14, Calahat 11, Yambing 9, Sumoda 8, Desoyo 7, Altamirano 5, Suico 3, Are 0, Escobido 0, Una 0, Cosari 0, Shanoda 0.
Quarters: 18-16, 28-27, 40-45, 61-57.