PERPETUAL Help notched its seventh victory in 10 outings on Monday after stopping the late surge of College of St. Benilde, 78-74, in the 88th NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The win put the Altas to a share of second place with Jose Rizal University and San Sebastian College. They are also half game behind idle San Beda (8-2) after the start of the second round at The Arena in San Juan City.
Perpetual led as many as 10 points in the middle of the fourth quarter but Benilde slowly trimmed the deficit to make it a one-point game, 73-72, with 1:22 remaining.
Go-to guy Jet Vidal drained a trey in the next play, forcing Benilde to foul him with 4 seconds to go. Vidal sank his charities to ice the match.
"Ang sabi ko sa mga player ko, huwag magpapabaya, huwag mag-relax kahit lamang," Altas coach Aric del Rosario said.
In the other game, Arellano spoiled JRU's bid to go for an early lead in the second round, 85-82.
Rocky Acidre topped the scoring board with 22 points and six assists while John Pinto added 16.
The Bombers, powered by Nate Matute's 21 markers, dropped to 7-3 while the Chiefs improved to 4-6. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)