27 September 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – Emilio Aguinaldo College stunned strong competitor San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 79-75, on Friday that ended their losing skid and shook the core of the Final Four hopefuls in the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
This is EAC’s only second win in 13 games of the tournament. The Golden Stags now dropped to a 7-6 win-loss record, which tied them with Mapua University at fourth place.
The Generals were in control of the game from tip-off, as they kept a comfortable 10-point cushion at the half, 34-24.
Allyn Bulanadi paced San Sebastian in the payoff period as they managed to tie the match at 73-all, 43.6 left to go in the game.
JP Maguliano did not hold back for the Generals as he knocked down a basket and fished for a foul. His free throw bounced off the basket, but Kriss Gurtiza was there for an offensive rebound and passed it to Marwin Taywan, who was fouled by JM Calma.
Taywan sank both his free throws that gave EAC a 77-73 advantage, 4.8 ticks left. RK Ilagan fired back with a floater, but Taywan was fouled again and converted both his charities to clinch victory.
Taywan finished with 16 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Gurtiza had a career-high 16 markers and seven boards.
On the other hand, Bulanadi topped the charts with 28 points, while Ilagan had 10 markers, six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, but it still was not enough as they suffered their second straight loss in the tournament.
The Scores:
EAC 79 – Taywan 16, Gurtiza 16, Mendoza 15, Maguliano 7, De Guzman 7, Boffa 6, Corilla 3, Martin 3, Gonzales 2, Luciano 2, Dayrit 2, Estacio 0, Cadua 0.
SAN SEBASTIAN 75 – Bulanadi 28, Capobres 13, Ilagan 10, Desoyo 10, Calahat 7, Calma 3, Sumoda 2, Villapando 2, Tero 0, Altamirano 0, Isidro 0, Cosari 0.
QUARTER SCORES: 20-14, 34-24, 55-49, 79-75.
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