Altas trip Chiefs, share NCAA lead

The Perpetual Help Altas grabbed a share of second place n the standings as they eked past the Arellano University Chiefs, 82-80, in the 89th NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.

MVP contender Harold Arboleda sealed the win with four pressure packed freethrows. They are now tied for second place in the team standings with the reigning champions San Beda Red Lions with identical 8-2 (win-loss) records.

Arboleda coolly made two from the line with 6.3 seconds left to give the Altas an 82-80 lead. The Chiefs actually had a shot at tying the game after AJ Serjue was fouled with 0.8 of a second left.

However, he muffed the first and intentionally missed the second as time expired.

Nosa Omorogbe had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Altas while Juneric Baloria added 14. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio