WHEN it rains, it pours for and that’s exactly what happened for Jose Rizal University on a drizzling Friday afternoon at the Playtime Filoil Centre after the Heavy Bombers took down heavy favorite Letran, 73-69, in Group B action.
Justin Lozano and Sean Salvador connected from downtown, as young JRU pulled away in the middle quarters before denying every attempt at a rally from the Knights late.
But there was no bigger three-pointer than the one Lozano made with 2:59 remaining, making one over the outstretched arms of Kevin Santos to restore order following a mini-Letran rally that gave the Heavy Bombers some breathing room, 70-62.
“Malakas naman talaga yung Letran. Siguro, we just caught them sa law of averages and at the same time, we stuck sa system na nirurun namin,” JRU coach Nani Epondulan said.
“I’m just very proud sa mga players ko and sa mga rookies ko na nag-perform at ito yung sinasabi namin sa preseason the reason why we play in a lot of tournament is for them to mature kasi most of them ay galing sa high school at iba yung physicality going to college,” he added.
On paper is different from on-court
Lozano finished with 17 points, three rebounds, and three assists and was the steadying presence for the Heavy Bombers, especially in the fourth quarter.
Salvador, the prized rookie out of Mapua, added 10 points, while Ivan Panapanaan was a beast on the boards, as he hauled down 14 rebounds to go along eight points to give their debuting coach a winning start to his campaign.
The fancied Knights had several chances to steal the win in the end, even drawing to within four multiple times in the final minute, but missed free throws from Santos and Titing Manalili proved to be their downfall.
Jimboy Estrada led the way for Letran with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, but had to sit out most of the first half after getting three early fouls.
Manalili added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Santos chipped in a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards for the Knights who missed shooter Deo Cuajao due to a flu.
The Scores:
JRU 73 – Lozano 17, Salvador 10, Panapanaan 8, Peñaverde 7, Garupil 6, Laurenaria 6, Herrera 6, Benitez 5, Argente 4, Sarmiento 2, Castillo 2, Esguerra 0, Duque 0
LETRAN 69 – Estrada 14, Manalili 11, Gammad 11, Roque 10, Santos 10, Tapenio 9, Rosilio 2, Omega 2, Yusi 0, Silorio 0, Buensalida 0
Quarters: 23-22, 40-35, 59-46, 73-69
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