13 September 2018
By Maxine Louise Lagman
Manila, Philippines – Thanks to the last minutes heroics of Laurenz Victoria, Mapua University clobbered Jose Rizal University 81-79 on Thursday in the NCAA Season 94 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
With only 1.2 seconds left in the game, Victoria stunned the Heavy Bombers as he drove a game-winning jumper to claim Mapua’s third win against eight losses in the tournament. Mapua snapped a six-game losing skid and now have the same slate with their total wins from last season.
It was a tough win for the Cardinals as they surged late coming into the second half.
Rookie Warren Bonifacio came alive in the fourth salvo as he drained a triple in the final seven minutes to pull away from JRU, 65-58.
Justin Serrano shot a layup and held off JRU after to keep a two-point lead. Cedric Pelayo and Victoria followed suit with back-to-back baskets to extend their lead to five, 79-74.
However, the Heavy Bombers answered back with a number of baskets coming from their freebies, slowly erasing the Cardinals’ lead, only 66 ticks left.
Mark Mallari knocked down a number of charities for the Heavy Bombers, including that off the technical foul called upon Mapua assistant coach Randy Alcantara.
Luckily, veteran Victoria kept his cool in the crucial seconds left in the game and knocked down the much-needed game winning score.
Victoria finished with 17 points, while Bonifacio chipped in 13 markers, six boards and three assists. Lugo and Pelayo added 10 points each for the win.
On the other hand, Jed Mendoza led his team with 22 markers, while Mallari had 18 as JRU dropped to its fourth consecutive loss for a 2-10 slate.
The Scores:
MU (81) – Victoria 17, Bonifacio 13, Lugo 10, Pelayo 10, Aguirre 7, Gamboa 6, Serrano 6, Buñag 4, Biteng 4, Jabel 4, Nieles 0.
JRU (79) – Mendoza 22, Mallari 18, Silvarez 13, Estrella 9, Aguilar 5, Esguerra 4, Dela Virgen 3, Bordon 2, Miranda 2, Padua 1, Doromal 0, David 0.
Quarterscores: 15-17, 36-42, 60-55, 81-79
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