Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — With San Beda slipping up against Letran on Thursday (July 16), the Perpetual Altas were able to able to secure the top spot in the standings of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with a strong, 84-70, outing against the San Sebastian Stags on Friday (July 17).
It was one-way traffic in the first game of a triple-header in the NCAA.
Perpetual were led by the dominant performance of Scottie Thompson, who registered a triple-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists.
Thompson wasn’t alone in stuffing the stat sheet that afternoon for Perpetual, as teammate Bright Akhuetie chipped in with 20 points and 22 rebounds of his own.
This victory sees the Altas on top of the table with a 4-0 record, while the Stags fall to a 1-2 slate.
In the second fixture, the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers kept the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals winless with a 67-47 mauling.
The Heavy Bombers controlled the game, pulling away in the second half to secure the victory and improve to 2-2.
The final game of the day turned out to be the most tightly contested, as the Arellano University Chiefs bested the Mapua Cardinals in overtime, 100-96.
An Exi Biteng three pointer was what the Cardinals needed to force the game into overtime at 89-all.
After regulation, it was the Chiefs who were the more active side as they put distance between themselves and the opposition behind back-to-back buckets from Michael Salado.
