University of Perpetual Help leaned on its stifling defense as it crushed San Sebastian, 60-52, on Tuesday, Sept. 24, in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The Altas held the Stags to a measly 20-of-78 field goal shooting for 25.6 percent while controlling the boards, 52-46, on their way to their second straight win for a 4-2 win-loss record.

San Sebastian, for its part, skidded to its fourth consecutive loss after back-to-back wins.

Christian Pagaran and Cedrick Abis fired 12 points apiece while collaring a combined 11 rebounds to fuel Perpetual, which dictated the pace for most parts of the game.

“It’s still a process to get to know each other and learn what each other can do,” said Perpetual coach Olsen Racela.

“Sa practice pa lang, I reminded them na importante yung approach nila every game. Iba-iba yung makakalaban mo, but yung approach mo, it has to be the same, which is kailangan gutom kami palagi,” he added.

Indeed, the Altas established their momentum as early as the opening quarter by taking a 14-11 lead before slowly pulling away to a 48-38 edge at the end of the third period.

For a moment, San Sebastian threatened midway the final canto after it drained eight unanswered points to cut its deficit to only six, 55-49, but Perpetual made the needed defensive stops before a dagger three from rookie Mark Gojo Cruz in the last 1:22 halted the Stags’ run.

“It was a total team effort. The bigs provided inside presence and the guards limited (Paeng) Are and (Raymart) Escobido. So far, everyone is taking advantage of every opportunity given to them, from the starters to the second stringers,” Racela said.

Cruz chipped in 10 points for the Altas, while Angelo Geisano and John Boral conspired for 16 points, 16 boards and five assists.

Are was the lone double-digit scorer for San Sebastian, but was limited to 11 points, while Escobido was held to seven points on a dismal 2-of-13 clip from the field.

Overall, the Stags struggled behind the arc as they managed only three triples out of 35 attempts.

The scores:

PERPETUAL HELP 60 - Pagaran 12, Abis 12, Gojo Cruz 10, Gelsano 8, Boral 8, Orgo 6, Pizarro 4, Nuñez 0, Manuel 0, Montemayor 0.

SAN SEBASTIAN 52 - Are 11, L. Gabat 8, Escobido 7, R. Gabat 5, Pascual 5, Felebrico 5, Velasco 4, Maliwat 3, Ricio 2, Lintol 2, Aguilar 0, Suico 0, Barroga 0, Cruz 0.

Quarters: 14-11; 34-28; 48-38; 60-52.