17 August 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – Winless? Jose Rizal University doesn’t think so.
After seven consecutive losses in the NCAA Season 94 senior’s basketball tournament, Jose Rizal University got their first win against Emilio Aguinaldo College, 57-55, Friday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Though their game against San Sebastian College-Recoletos got overturned because of the ruling against RK Ilagan, the Heavy Bombers’ first legit win against the EAC was still the sweetest victory.
JRU was off to a hot start, ending the first quarter with a 20-6 lead capped off by a triple from Mark Mallari. However, the Chiefs did not easily back down and went for a 17-8 run in the second quarter to close in the gap, 23-28.
The Bombers got their momentum back and strengthened their defense coming into the second half and pulled away from the Chiefs again.
Hamadou Laminou and Juju Bautista worked hand in hand to boost the Chiefs back into the game, 55-56, with only 15.2 ticks left on the clock. Teammate Jerome Garcia took the much needed triple for EAC, but was denied by Agem Miranda.
Mallari then split his freebies to seal their first win.
Jed Mendoza was all over the court and led the Bombers with 18 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds, while Mallari chipped in 12 points.
Meanwhile, Garcia finished with a double-double record of 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Laminou had 10 markers and seven boards as the Chiefs fell to a 2-6 slate.
The Scores:
JRU 57 – Mendoza 18, Mallari 12, Esguerra 8, Silvarez 8, Miranda 7, Padua 2, Santos 2, Bordon 0, Doromal 0
EAC 55 – Garcia 19, Laminou 10, Diego 6, Bautista 6, Maguliano 4, Gonzales 4, Bugarin 4, Natividad 2, Cadua 0, Mendoza 0, Neri 0, Tampoc 0, Robin 0
QUARTER SCORES: 20-6, 28-23, 47-38, 57-55
Follow the writer on Twitter: @meanxi
Photo Gallery at https://www.facebook.com/Burnsports/
