BOMBERS SURVIVE GRITTY CARDINALS, EXTEND WIN STREAK TO 4
By Maxine Louise Lagman
29 August 2017
Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers extended their winning streak after a 68-59 victory over the Mapua University Cardinals on Tuesday to finish the first round in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
“A win is a win, but the way we played, I’m not happy about it. They thought they can easily win against Mapua, but Mapua gave them a hard time,” said Coach Vergel Meneses.
It looked like a sure win for the Heavy Bombers during the payoff period after Ervin Grospe drilled trey to take his squad to a 64-45 lead, but the Cardinals was able to cut the deficit to just seven, 66-59 in the last crucial minute of the game, due to a number of turnovers by JRU.
Luckily, Abulwahab Abdulwazarak scored a put-back to take the victory for the Heavy Bombers.
The Heavy Bombers have ended the first round with a 6-3 record, while the Cardinals ended the first round at the last place in the team standings with a 1-8 slate.
Aaron Bordon led JRU with his career-high 17 points and four rebounds, while Jed Mendoza finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. Ervin Grospe and MJ Dela Virgen added 11 points each.
Abdulrazak was unstoppable in the defense with 21 rebounds on top of five points.
On the other hand, Christian Bunag paced Mapua with a double-double record of 15 points and 21 rebounds, while Laurenz Victoria finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
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