After missing Arellano’s Season 94 campaign due to an ACL tear in his right knee, it is safe to say that Kent Salado is making up for lost time in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors’ Basketball Tournament.
The latest evidence of which was last Friday. With his squad down seven in the final frame against Perpetual, Salado put the Chiefs on his back and carried them to a gutsy win.
Behind the graduating guard, Arellano overcame its deficit with a 16-1 run for an eight-point lead.
Salado’s heroics did not end there. When the Altas came knocking to within two, he drove hard to the basket and dished to Dariel Bayla who then converted a basket.
With 14 seconds left in the match, he once again flaunted his playmaking brilliance by setting up Justin Arana underneath to seal Perpetual’s fate.
The 5-foot-8 playmaker wound up with 18 points, 12 assists, four steals, three rebounds and, most importantly, the win that arrested the Chiefs’ three-game losing skid.
With his exceptional performance, Salado earned the Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps NCAA Player of the Week award.
“Sinasabihan ko lang yung teammates ko na kaya pa naman natin kasi kaya nga natin yung malalakas, humahabol nga tayo. Wag lang dapat kami mawalan ng gana,” said the Cagayan de Oro native about Arellano’s playoff hopes.
Salado edged Noah Lugo of Mapua, James Canlas of San Beda and Jaycee Marcelino of Lyceum for the weekly recognition given by print and online scribes covering the country’s oldest collegiate league.