John Abis, Carlo Ferreras take charge as Perpetual survives San Beda in OT thriller
By Carlo Anolin
John Cedric Abis and Carlo Ferreras joined forces to help lift Perpetual over San Beda with a hard-earned 75-72 win in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Season 98 men's basketball tournament Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The undermanned Altas, who missed the servives of veteran Kim Aurin, leaned on the 21-point, nine-rebound game-high performance of Abis.
Abis, who had an efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the field, also scored eight points in the extension which included a couple of free throws to turn the tables for Perpetual, snapping its two-game skid and improving to a 5-6 record.
Ferreras, despite having a dismal 6-of-21 shooting from the field, made it up with 17 points and eight rebounds. Mark Omega added nine points and dominated the rebounding department, grabbing 22 of the Altas' 60 rebounds.
The 10-man Altas also did their part on the defensive end, limiting San Beda's sharpshooter and scorer in James Kwekuteye, who only had five points on a 2-of-17 shooting clip.
The Red Lions had their golden chance when Peter Alfaro, who led the team with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, took the ball away from Ferreras in the last 10 seconds.
Only down by two points after JB Bahio's free throws, 74-72, Justine Sanchez then fired a corner three with six seconds left but missed before Rey Barcuma secured the rebound and zoomed away.
It was still a one-ball possession game after Barcuma split the free throw with 1.5 ticks left when he drew a foul from Tony Ynot, 75-72, but Abis, who earlier showed steely nerves in the free throw line and went perfect on a 9-of-9 shooting, still paved the way on the defensive end for the Altas as he swiped the ball away in the Lions' last-second ditch during inbound.
Bahio contributed 14 points as well to go with 12 rebounds while Yukien Andrada also chalked up 13 points and 10 rebounds for San Beda, which dropped to a 6-4 slate.
Trailing for the most part, San Beda took the upper hand after an Alfaro three-pointer with 1:21 to go in regulation with a 66-64 lead.
But Ferreras responded quickly with a one-hand runner which went off the glass in the ensuing play to tie the game at 66-deadlock.
At this point, the Altas still have the momentum but Omega both missed his free throws even as Jelo Razon fired blank with his jumper off an isolation play with 3.3 seconds left.
Alfaro then likewise missed a three-pointer in the waning seconds which sent the game to the nail-biting overtime.
The Scores:
PERPETUAL 75 -- Abis 21, Ferreras 17, Omega 9, Martel 8, Egan 7, Barcuma 7, Razon 4, Nitura 2, Pagaran 0, Boral 0.
SAN BEDA 72 -- Bahio 14, Alfaro 14, Andrada 13, Cuntapay 8, Ynot 6, Kwekuteye 5, Cortez 5, Payosing 4, Sanchez 3, Cometa 0, Jopia 0, Visser 0.
Quarters: 16-12, 35-28, 50-46, 66-66, 75-72.