Chiefs beat Doves, 61-60, to bag NCRAA caging title

The smallest player on the floor made the biggest shot on Thursday to propel the Arellano University Chiefs to getting a back-to-back title in the 15th Smart-National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) men's basketball tournament. Five-foot-one Leonard Anquillo made a quick steal off an inbounding Leomer Losentes in the last six seconds and sprinted for a layup at the buzzer, propelling the Chiefs to a thrilling 61-60 victory over the St. Francis of Assisi College Doves to keep their NCRAA title on Thursday at the jam-packed Arellano gym in Manila. According to an NCRAA statement, the Chiefs swept their best-of-three series with the Doves, 2-0, after taking Game 1 with a 73-68 win. Anquillo, who was elevated to the collegiate ranks for his gutsy plays which handed the Arellano University Baby Chiefs the junior crown last year, scored only two points. He made his move right after topscorer Adrian Celada brought the Chiefs closer, 59-60, with his sixth triple for the afternoon. "Our hard work paid off in a miraculous way," Chiefs coach Leo Isaac said. Celada led the Chiefs with 24 points, while team skipper Nathaniel Estilo banged in 12. Celada was later named as Most Valuable Player, while Losentes, who scored 23 points, earned Mythical Five honors, along with Raymund Ilagan of S. Francis, Gio Ciriacruz of Arellano, and John Valderrama of Emilio Aguinaldo College. A triple from Celada tied the count at 56-all, for the last time. Then, the Doves fought their way to a 60-56 advantage on charities coming from Es Santos and Francis Martin. Inside plays from Losentes at the start of the third quarter allowed the Doves to bounce back from a 26-36 half-time deficit and force a 40-all tie off his trey. Baby Chiefs vs Baby Technocrats, 65-59 In the men's juniors game, the Baby Chiefs turned to the free throw line in the endgame to stop Rizal Technological University Baby Technocrats, 65-59, and moved a win shy of sweeping the elimination round. EJ Limboy and Jenel Javier fired crucial charities in the last eight seconds to carry the Baby Chiefs to their eighth straight victory. Limboy and Javier struck with their free throws moments after RTU came threatening by three, 59-62. Levi Hernandez topscored for the Baby Chiefs with 25 points. Earlier in the women's games, RTU won over St. Francis, 78-48, while La Salle-Dasmariñas defeated Emilio Aguinaldo College, 56-55. - GMANews.TV