A BATTLE-WEARY Josè Rizal University (JRU) used a fourth-quarter surge to rally past De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, 72-66, in an all-National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) showdown in Group A of the 2015 Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at The Arena in San Juan City on Monday.
The Heavy Bombers, playing in three games in as many days in both the Filoil and Fr. Martin Cup tournaments, mustered enough contributions from guard Teytey Teodoro and rookie Cameroonian center Abdel Poutouochi.
Teodoro fired 20 markers off seven-for-12 shooting in 25 minutes, while Poutouochi had 10 points, six rebounds and a blocked shot for the Heavy Bombers.
JRU captured its second straight win on the heels of their close 57-55 win over University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 runner-up Far Eastern University late Saturday night.
Both teams fought tooth-and-nail until early in the fourth quarter, when JRU went on 12-5 tear, with all but two points coming from the foul line, to put the pesky Blazers away for good.
JR Ongteco put up 12 points, while Fons Saavedra tallied 10 markers for Benilde.
In Monday’s first game, Letran College subdued visiting Cebu squad University of San Jose-Recoletos, 89-66, in a highly physical tussle to rack up its first win in Group A play.
Third-year guard Rey Nambatac and rookie forward Jerrick Balanza, both products of the school’s juniors’ program, each tallied 15 points to lead the rout. Rey Publico added 10, while seldom-used Felix Apreku racked up nine points and nine rebounds in a career-high 17 minutes on the floor.
A completely revamped UAAP Season 77 juniors runner-up National University began its uphill trek by beating last year’s NCAA runner-up Malayan High School of Science, 90-85, in the juniors division.
The Bullpups, who lost forward Mark Dyke due to graduation, leaned on John Clemente who fired 25 points off a 10-for-16 shooting from the field in 29 minutes.
Red Robin Sherwin Concepcion, who exploded for 34 points on a 10-for-14 shooting from three-point distance, saw his career game go to naught.
The Knights led wire to wire. They raced to an early 51-30 lead at the break, which then ballooned to a high of 30, 73-43, on JP Calvo’s jumper with 56 ticks left in the third quarter.
But things got interesting when USJR’s RJ Dinolan and Letran’s Bong Quinto were hit with respective disqualifying fouls at the buzzer of the third period, which set off a mini-run by the Jaguars early in the fourth.
Sparking their run was sweet-shooting Iron Suano, who put up 13 of his team-leading 15 markers in the first 4:20 of the final frame to trim down Letran’s lead to 19, 58-77. But the run was short-lived, thanks to Apreku’s strong showing late in the contest to nullify another USJR surge.
Newly-installed mentor Aldin Ayo, who took over where Caloy Garcia left off last season, said that his players have managed to keep their cool in an intensely heated contest, owing to the highly physical play that the veterans experienced in the NCAA.
“Kulang pa ng conditioning ang mga bata, pero ang scheme kuha na ng mga bata. Pero physically, we have to work more,” said Ayo, who played for the Knights from 1998 to 2001 alongside Knight legends Kerby Raymundo and Chris Calaguio.
“I told them to be tough mentally. The rough and tumble plays will happen, but we should always focus on the objective, which is to win the game,” he added.
Kevin Villafranca supported the Jaguars’ cause with 13 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks, followed by Criss Galvez with 10 markers in the loss.
Image credits: Kevin dela Cruz