Veteran guard Lennox Valenzuela got a pass that was not meant for him but he rose to the occasion as he scored on a floater with 2.3 seconds left, lifting the La Salle Greenhills to a 99-98 overtime win over the San Beda Red Cubs Friday at the FilOil-Flying V Sports Center in San Juan.
Valenzuela was open when he received in inbound heave from Kobe Palencia and his quick basket over the outstretched arms of two defenders allowed the Greenies to gain a share of the lead in the 95th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
This snapped the Red Cubs’ winning run after five games. With their 4-1 win-loss slate, the Greenies now share the lead with the Arellano University Braves.
“I challenged the boys. And they took the challenge. I did not expect 40 minutes of perfect basketball. But it was important that they played with composure,” said Greenies’ coach Karl Santos, who replaced Marvin Bienvenida.
RC Calimag improved his showing with a new season-high output of 30 points, while Valenzuela added 23 points.
Jan Manansala was supposed to take a shot after receiving an inbound pass from teammate Kobe Palencia. But the Red Cubs defense was tight on Manansala, forcing Palencia to hurl the ball to Valenzuela instead.
Yukien Andrada showed the way for the Red Cubs with 21 points, including back-to-back triples in the last 19 seconds of regulation, and this tied the contest 86-all.
The Greenies could have won it in regulation. But Valenzuela turned the ball over, allowing the Red Cubs to regain with 15 ticks left.
Later, the University of Perpetual Help Junior Altas halted a three-game slump with a 67-62 stopping of the San Sebastian College Staglets.
The Junior Altas now have a 3-3 card.
Emman Galman banged in a game-high 23 points, while Shawn Orgo knocked in 12 points and eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, the league called of three senior division games due to bad weather.
Among those affected were the games of the San Beda University Red Lions and the College of St. Benilde Blazers, and the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Stags and University of Perpetual Help Altas.
The clash between Arellano University and Lyceum of the Philippines University was also affected after heavy rains hit Metro Manila all morning.
“Due to the late suspension of classes, the games scheduled from 12 noon onwards for Friday, 2 August 2019 are CANCELED and shall be played on a date and time to be determined later,” league management committee chairman Peter Cayco said in a statement.
