HEROES were aplenty for Jose Rizal University as it blew off in a huge way with a wire-to-wire 97-74 win over Emilio Aguinaldo College in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.
Coming off a stinging 101-97 overtime loss against defending champion Letran, the Heavy Bombers came out really motivated and vented its ire on the Generals, with Agem Miranda and JL De los Santos leading the second quarter attack to start their breakaway.
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They used that momentum as a springboard for a huge second half as they led by as many as 27 points, with William Sy and John Amores joining the red-hot shooting party of the Heavy Bombers and cruise to their first win in three games.
“Actually what fuels us to finish strong is during our last game we did our best already pero for us to make a statement na we really belong to this league, we really need to be at our absolute best every minute dun sa floor,” JRU head coach Louie Gonzales said.
“Yun ang challenge ko dun sa players ko, not much sa gameplan, given naman na yun, yung pagtrabahuhan nila lahat and pakita nila na. I belong here in the NCAA.”
Miranda filled the stat-sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Sy drained five of his nine three pointers to also finish with 20.
De los Santos chipped in 17 points, four assists and four steals while Amores had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds which he also supplanted with four steals.
As a team the Heavy Bombers clicked on both ends as aside from a hot shooting night which saw them hit 12 three pointers for the game, they were equally as active on the defensive end, forcing the Generals to 26 turnovers which they turned to 37 points.
The Generals saw huge games from their trio of Nat Cosejo, Ralph Robin and Allen Liwag but found virtually no help from anyone else.
Cosejo had 27 points and seven rebounds, Robin chipped in 18 while Liwag added 15 points and 17 boards but no other General had more than one field goal after them as they dropped to the bottom of the standings with a 0-3 record.
The scores:
JRU 97 - Miranda 20, Sy 20, Delos Santos 17, Amores 11, Guiab 9, Celis 7, Dionisio 5, Dela Rosa 3, Villarin 3, Arenal 2, Gonzales 0, Medina 0
EAC 74 - Consejo 27, Robin 18, Liwag 15, Gurtiza 4, Luciano 4, Balowa 2, Quinal 2, Tolentino 2, Umpad 0, Bajon 0, Maguliano 0, Bacud 0, Dominguez 0, Doria 0, Cosa 0
Quarterscores: 25-22; 52-41; 71-51; 97-74