JRU defeats St. Benilde to strengthen grip on 3rd spot
By Maxine Louise Lagman
3 October 2017
Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers continues to hold on to the Final Four as they dispatch College of St. Benilde Blazers, 90-77 on Tuesday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
JRU tightened their hold on the third spot in the Final Four bid with a 9-6 card, while CSB dropped to a 3-12 record.
The Heavy Bombers extended their lead to 18 points, 53-35, in the third quarter before the Blazers cut it down to six early in the final frame, 67-61.
“They tend to relax pagdating sa depensa, pero hindi pwedeng mangyari sa NCAA yun, because any team can come back from any deficit,” said JRU Coach Vergel Meneses.
Thanks to the heroics of Teytey Teodoro, he powered the Heavy Bombers’ 17-7 run and extended their lead once again to 16 points after his back-to-back baskets along with Abdulwahab Abdulrazak, 84-68 with less than four minutes left in the game.
Ervin Grospe added five consecutive shots to extend the lead to as much as 19 points, 89-70, 1:33 left.
“Yung panalo namin ngayon medyo gumanda na for us, but we’re hoping to win against San Sebastian pa rin,” added Meneses.
Jed Mendoza topped JRU with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Teodoro chipped in 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting, along with two boards and three assists.
Grospe added 14 points and six assists, while Abdulrazak finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win.
On the other hand, Clement Leutcheu powered St. Benilde with a double-double record of 25 points and 10 reboubds, while Dino San Juan chipped in 14 points in the losing effort.
