Arellano Chiefs Beat UST Tigers In FilOil Flying V 2011 Pre-season Basketball: Tigers May Not Reach Quarterfinals

This game is a win win situation for both of these two teams, UST and Arellano. UST was awakened by this lost. They are on their way into the quarterfinals and they don't want to lose in the late stagest of the tournament, in the quarter finals. They were very fortunate that they experienced the loss at this point in time wherein they still have the chance to improve and to learn from their mistakes. Arellano on the other hand will get some inspiration from this huge win. They still have a complete line-up that's full of potential. They should draw some good vibes from this game. They were able to end their FilOil campaign on a high note.

This game was very close right from the get go. UST's lead didn't went that high. You can really see the desire to win on the Arellano team. They fought tooth and nail and so they won the game with sheer intensity and will power. The final score was 64 to 63. Arellano's Christopher Okpe scored the game winning basket.

The former PCCR superstar, Adrian Celada was the one who tied the game via a classic and 1 three point play with 1 minute and 2 seconds remaining in the game clock. Arellano fouled UST's black center, Kareem Abdul while he was attempting a shot. Fortunately for Arellano, Abdul missed both of his charities. Arellano got the final crack at the basket. Okpe played a hero's role as he nailed the game winner for Arellano.

Down by two points in the last 19.7 seconds of the ball game, Jeric Teng missed a three pointer that could have given UST the win. This game really went down the wire and it tested the character of these two teams. Arellano's head coach, Leo Isaac seemed to be happy after they beat UST. He said:

“We’ll use this win to further leap [sic] the morale of the players. Sana madala namin sa NCAA.”

Mythical team member of last year's NCAA, and the former PCCR High School standout, Adrian Celeda fired 30 points for Arellano (AU). He almost scored half of Arellano's output, which is 64 points. He was also able to get his teammates involve. John Casiño, AU's point guard had 10 points and two assists. Vergel Zulueta of AU added 12 points to help his team win the so called inspirational game. AU will exit the FilOil Flying V Pre-season tournament with their heads up high while bragging about their 2 wins and 5 losses record. UST on the other hand will still have to win some important games in their next assignments for them to secure a trip in the FilOil quarter finals. If they will lose again, La Salle can snatch the quarter finals slot from them. They must win or else they will have their exit.

Here are the stats of this game.

Arellano 64 – Celada 30, Zulueta 12, Casiño 10, Acidre 5, Caperal 3, Lapuz 2, Okpe 2, Palma 0, Pagayunan 0, Salcedo 0, Doligon 0, Estoce 0
UST 63 – Abdul 18, Ferrer 13, Fortuna 11, Teng 8, Afuang 5, Bautista 3, de Guzman 3, Camus 2, Tan 0, Lo 0, Sheriff 0
Quarter scoring: 7-20, 27-37, 49-56, 64-63