Arellano slew a giant in defending champion San Beda with a 72-70 victory on Saturday, Sept. 28, in NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.

The Chiefs maintained their composure and made the crucial defensive stops in the final four minutes of the game to crawl back from a three-point deficit and grab the confidence-boosting win.

Though the triumph still kept them at the cellar at 2-5 in tie with San Sebastian, Arellano coach Chico Manabat considered it an important accomplishment for his stalwarts.

“Yung pusong palaban, pinakita nila. Hindi lang sila nagtrabaho; nag-commit sila na labanan yung defending champion,” said Manabat, whose team battled through nine deadlocks and nine lead changes before clinching the victory.

“Ayaw na rin namin sa bottom (standings). Kaya sana makuha pa namin yung mga natitirang laro sa first round,” he added.

Big man Lorenz Capulong paced the Chiefs with 13 points including a hook shot in the last 44.7 seconds that gave them the needed 72-67 cushion down the final stretch. He also hauled seven rebounds and dished off two assists.

Jeadan Ongotan also starred for Arellano with 13 points spiked by three triples, while Ernest Geronimo chipped in 12 points, four boards and three assists.

A Jomel Puno trey in the last 4:31 of the game gave San Beda a 67-64 lead, but Arellano remained unfazed as it retaliated with a 9-0 blast spearheaded by Capulong and Geronimo to grab the 72-67 upperhand.

Yukien Andrada briefly breathed life for the Red Lions with a booming trey to cut their deficit to only a single possession, but weren’t able to convert in the last 37.5 ticks due to the Chiefs’ stifling defense.

San Beda evened its win-loss record to 3-3 to join Lyceum in the middle standings despite Puno and RC Calimag unloading 20 and 14 points, respectively.

The scores:

ARELLANO 72 - Capulong 13, Ongotan 13, Geronimo 12, Abiera 9, Borromeo 7, Vinoya 6, Hernal 4, Libang 4, Acop 2, Valencia 2, Camay 0, Miller 0, Dela Cruz 0.

SAN BEDA 70 - Puno 20, RC Calimag 14, Sajonia 9, Andrada 9, Payosing 5, Celzo 4, Estacio 3, Royo 2, Gonzales 2, Songcuya 2, Tagle 0, Ri. Calimag 0, Jalbuena 0, Sollano 0.

Quarter scores: 19-24; 36-34; 50-50; 72-70.