TEY TEODORO buried a 15-foot jumper with 5.3 seconds remaining as Jose Rizal University (JRU) escaped past Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), 60-59, in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Season 92 seniors basketball tournament on Thursday at The Arena in San Juan City.
Teodoro’s heroic came after the Generals grabbed the driver’s seat, 59-58, in the final 11.1 seconds on Francis Munsayac’s step-back jumper.
Teodoro received the inbounds in the Bombers’ offensive and pulled up for the game-winner. He finished with a game-high 21 points laced with five triples and iced by two assists and three steals.
Mark Cruz, another big-time performer in the final period, added 14 points and six rebounds for JRU.
Despite the hard-earned victory, Bombers Head Coach Vergel Meneses expressed disappointment over the way his wards handled the match.
“I don’t know what’s wrong. Maybe it’s their attitude and effort. It’s an ugly win for us,” Meneses said. “I didn’t see anything positive with this win.”
“We are not yet in the level of the top teams, like San Beda and Mapùa. We are still down there, and good thing, Teodoro’s basket went in,” he added.
“We’re not playing with heart,” added Meneses, whose Bombers were Final Four contenders last season but are playing below their expectations this year with only two victories to show in five games. Their other triumph came at the expense of College of St. Benilde, 86-56, last week.
Sidney Onwubere led EAC with 18 points and 19 rebounds, while Hamadou Laminou had 14 markers, 14 boards and eight blocks. The Generals fell to 1-4.
Rookie Adrian Alban played big for the second consecutive game by scoring a career-high 21 points as Lyceum of the Philippines University routed St. Benilde, 75-58, for the Pirates’ second straight win after losing their first three.
Alban was an obscure player early in the season but came out of his shell and uncorked 19 points to help power the Pirates to a stunning 69-66 victory over the Bombers also last week.
The Blazers fell to their sixth straight defeat and risk matching a 0-11 (win-loss) record 12 years ago.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza