10 Augusts 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – Emilio Aguinaldo College rallied hard on the fourth quarter to claim their second consecutive win in the NCAA Season 94 senior’s basketball tournament against Mapua University, 89-85, Friday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Down three points in the third quarter, 60-63, the Generals charged in the fourth quarter to get possession of a lead.
A scramble in the final minute of the game led to an unsportsmanlike foul call on CJ Cadua, after he was seen hitting Denniel Aguirre. What could have been the Cardinals chance to get back the lead, 83-84, Aguirre missed two of his free throws while Jerome Garcia made his for the technical foul called on Laurenz Victoria.
8.3 seconds left on the clock, Jerome Garcia answered back for EAC and sunk two freebies of his own.
Noah Lugo took possession of the ball and shot a floater to give Cardinals some hope, 85-87.
With only less than five seconds in the game, a foul was called upon Mapua that gave Sean Neri the role to seal the win by tipping in his two freebies, 89-85
Hamadou Laminou led the Cardinals with a double-double record of 17 points and 12 rebounds on top of six blocks.
Garcia chipped in 14 points, while Jess Bautista had another double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds as the Generals ties with College of St. Benilde with a 2-2 record.
Lugo had a game-high 24 points, while Warren Bonifacio had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. The Generals dropped to a 2-5 record.
The Scores:
EAC 89 – Laminou 17, Garcia 14, Bautista 13, Natividad 12, Cadua 10, Tampoc 7, Neri 5, Gonzales 4, Diego 3, Mendoza 2, Robin 2, Maguliano 0, Bugarin 0
MAPUA 85 – Lugo 24, Bonifacio 15, Victoria 11, Pelayo 11, Gamboa 8, Jabel 8, Biteng 4, Aguirre 2, Bunag 2, Serrano 0, Garcia 0
QUARTERS: 18-16, 33-39, 60-63, 89-85
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