MANILA – University of Perpetual Help Junior Altas clinched their maiden NCAA Juniors Basketball title with a dominant 101-67 victory over De La Salle Greenhills in Game 3 of the Season 100 Finals on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.
Jan Roluna paced the Junior Altas with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Icee Callangan delivered a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists in the title-clinching win.
Jim Corpuz and Dan Rosales chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Season 100 MVP Lebron Jhames Daep finished with 10 points and 12 boards for the Junior Altas.
The Junior Altas broke the game open early, leading 32-28 after the first quarter before pulling away with a 53-30 advantage late in the second.
Despite a brief fightback by the Greenies in the third period, Perpetual Help responded swiftly, ballooning the lead to as much as 34 points.
The win also marks the school’s first-ever basketball championship in the NCAA, completing a redemption run after falling short in last season’s finals against the Letran Squires.
“I believed in the boys,” Junior Altas head coach Joph Cleopas said after the game. “Na-feel ko ‘yung feelings nila (nung natalo kami nung Game 2). We just came back stronger.”
“I told them before this game na gusto ko ma-test kung how we bounce back from a loss and learn from these things, and ‘yun ang ipinakita nila,” added the former University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers’ assistant coach.
Guillian Quines top-scored for the Greenies with 18 points, while Gian Gomez added 17 markers in the defeat./PN
