EMILIO Aguinaldo College proved steadier down the stretch to pull off a stunning 95-93 overtime win over heavy favorite College of St. Benilde Blazers and capture the Pinoyliga Next Man cUP Season 3 title recently at the Enderun Colleges gym in Taguig City.
Marvin James Raymundo made the go-ahead basket with 13.2 seconds left in the extra five-minutes and made it a 95-93 contest.
CSB lost control of the ball for a turnover with 1.2 seconds to go, giving EAC the possession.
The Generals then run down the clock as time expired, giving the team the championship amidst a frenzied celebration among the plavers and their supporters.
EJ Castillo led the Generals with 24 points, while Joshua Tolentino contributed 19, Ruzzelle Dominguez had 13, and Raymundo, whose jumper with 19 seconds left in regulation play tied the score at 86-all to send the game to OT, added 10.
Castillo, who was named Finals MVP, credited his teammates and coaches for the belief they had in him since joining the team from the juniors’ team of EAC Brigadiers.
“Sobrang sarap sa feeling na mag-champion kasama ng mga coaches ko from the junior's team. Binigay ko talaga lahat para hindi ako mag-regret,” said Castillo, who shot 9-of-17 from the field.
EAC head coach Jerson Cabiltes said it was all about trust and confidence on his players.
“I told the players (during a fourth quarter huddle) na 'ipakita nyo sino kayo' and from there we played composed and we executed well,” said Cabiltes, who is now on his second year with the Generals.
St. Benilde, which was undefeated in the preliminaries with a 5-0 card and easily won its two playoff games, had a chance to win it in regulation, but Jake Gaspay missed a potential game-winning jumper.
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