By Kevin Estrada
Emilio Aguinaldo College put up a masterclass to stifle Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 68-58, in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the FilOIl-EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Generals perfected their game plan on the Knights, dominating the match from start to finish to get revenge on their first-round defeat.
EAC keeps its final four hopes alive after taking the fourth place away from Letran’s grasp, improving to an even 7-7 win-loss record.
The backcourt duo of Harvey Pagsanjan and Nino Ochavo took charge offensive-wise for the Generals, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively.
EAC took advantage of Kevin Santos’ absence to win the rebounding battle 53-44. The Generals then converted their 18 offensive rebounds into 12 second-chance points in the process.
A 13-5 start in the opening period was all it needed for EAC to break the game wide open, with the Ermita-based outfit even led by as much as 15 (62-47) on Gelo Loristo’s three-point play with 7:33 left in the fourth quarter.
Guard John Sherick Estrada and forward Joseph Nunag each scored 10 points for the Knights, who fell to fifth place after suffering two consecutive defeats that dropped their record to 7-8.
The scores:
EAC 68 – Pagsanjan 13, Ochavo 10, Loristo 9, Gurtiza 9, Oftana 8, Quinal 6, Jacob 4, Ednilag 3, Doromal 2, Lucero 2, Bacud 2, Bagay 0, Luciano 0
LETRAN 58 – Estrada 10, Nunag 10, Cuajao 9, Monje 7, Miller 6, Montecillo 5, Javillonar 4, Baliling 3, Jumao-As 2, Dimaano 2, Delfino 0
Quarter scores: 15-11, 33-29, 54-45, 68-58
Images courtesy of NCAA Media Bureau
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