KING Gurtiza came out with some big shots in the end as Emilio Aguinaldo College ended its two-game slide at the expense of Lyceum 90-88, in a thrilling encounter between two struggling teams in the NCAA Season 100 last Sunday.
Gurtiza scored the final five points for the Generals, including the game-winning free throws with 6.7 seconds left as the boys of coach Jerson Cabiltes avoided a meltdown after seeing their 18 point lead disappear in the second half.
“Yung first half nag-start off well sila but we didn’t close out the first half well, the second quarter perse,” Cabiltes said.
“Yun nga may momentum for them going into the second half. Luckily for us, King made a big shot and the veteran that he is, he was able to draw a foul in that last possession.”
King certainly came to their rescue, especially as the Pirates looked poised to complete their comeback.
Back to back threes from Renz Villegas and Gyle Montano gave the Pirates an 88-85 lead with a 1:17 remaining in the game, but the veteran guard in Gurtiza had other plans.
The 6-foot guard tied the game with a triple of his own with 59.1 seconds remaining, before outsmarting Greg Cunanan who was trying to use their remaining fouls to disrupt the Generals’ final play.
With three fouls to give in the waning seconds of the game, Cunanan tried giving up one but Gurtiza was well ahead of him, taking a shot just when contact was made and he was rewarded with three foul shots.
He made the first two before missing the third to leave a window open for the Pirates but Villegas missed a three that could’ve won the game, before Cunanan flubbed a short stab at the buzzer which would’ve sent the game into overtime.
The win was a much needed tonic for the Generals who lost back to back games since their monumental win over San Beda two weeks ago. They improved to 3-4.
“This game is very vital for us. Sabi ko nga kanina either we sink or swim. We need to stay afloat. We needed to win this game and luckily for us we won this game,” Cabiltes continued.
“We weren’t making our shots, they really disrupted our offense. We weren’t making our open shots, first half kasi we were making it, second half nawala, but luckily we stayed composed.”
Gurtiza led the way for the Generals 21 points while Paolo Bagay added 11 for the Generals who survived a horrific game from the foul stripe (9/24) by finding their range from beyond the arc (15/34).
Ato Barba led the way for the Pirates with 19 points and 14 rebounds as they also dropped to 3-4. Montano and Villegas chipped in 12 apiece in the game which also saw Lyceum lose starting guard McLaude Guadana to an injury early in the first quarter.
The scores
EAC 90 - Gurtiza 21, Bagay 11, Doromal 9, Pagsanjan 8, Quinal 8, Loristo 8, Ochavo 7, Oftana 6, Lucero 5, Luciano 5, Jacob 2, Angeles 0, Manacho 0, Umpad 0
LYCEUM 88 - Barba 19, Montaño 14, Villegas 12, Peñafiel 11, Moralejo 7, Cunanan 5, Daileg 5, Caduyac 5, Aviles 4, Gordon 4, Guadaña 2, Panelo 0
Quarters: 28-17, 52-44, 68-69, 90-88
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