WHEN the dust settled, San Beda and Jose Rizal University turned out to be the last two teams standing in the 19th Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup presented by ABC Tile Adhesive.
The Red Lions and the Heavy Bombers stunned their fancied foes on Sunday at Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan to arrange the first ever all-NCAA championship duel in the famed preseason league.
San Beda played inspired basketball and dethroned the defending three-time champion University of the Philippines, 93-72, while JRU was in full control against Letran to earn the 82-73 victory.
Game One of the best-of-three finals series starts this Tuesday at the same venue.
Fighting Maroons-turned-Red Lions RC Calimag and Aldous Torculas were men on a mission in the contest, as the Mendiola side shot a blazing 16-of-33 clip from downtown to eliminate State U from the competition and reach the championship for the first time since 2019.
Calimag caught fire early and commandeered San Beda's 12-0 start before finishing with 27 points built from six treys, as Torculas did a little bit of everything with his 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Dom Sarigumba also chimed in 17 points, seven assists, and two boards, Penny Estacio got 11 points and six assists, and Zed Etulle nabbed a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win in this tilt which has Hanes, Buffalo's Wings N Things, Wallem, BDO, Akari, Smart, Molten, Reyes Barbecue, Nature's Spring, EO Executive Optical, FWD Insurance, Tela.com Athletics, Brothers Burger, B’lue Vita Boost, Mejos Lechon Cebu, and Don Benito's as sponsors.
More than the triumph, however, it was an emotional victory for the Red Lions who dedicated the game to the late JV Gallego who tragically passed away on Saturday.
"[Gallego] embodied sacrifice and he's such a great inspiration for the team in terms of staying ready," said assistant coach Andre Santos. "The guys played inspired basketball, they played for something greater than themselves and the team, and they played for JV."
Ex-Red Lion James Payosing topped the Fighting Maroons in the loss with 10 points and seven rebounds.
JRU's flight plan
Defense, meanwhile, did the trick for the Heavy Bombers with Chris Hubilla and Allan Laurenaria leading the charge in stifling the red-hot Knights.
Hubilla uncorked 22 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, as Laurenaria recorded 11 points and 10 boards.
But it was Lawrence Mangubat who outplayed his counterparts with 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Titing Manalili, however, kept Letran fighting, as the Knights rallied from 23-points down and hit back-to-back threes to cut the deficit down to six, 79-73, with 44.0 seconds left.
But JRU did just enough in the endgame to pull off the win and enter the preseason finals for the first time since 2006 - when the tournament was still named the Homegrown Cup and it settled for runner-up honors against La Salle.
"Sinasabi ko naman sa kanila na trabahuin nila ng tama and ito ngayon yung naging resulta," said coach Nani Epondulan.
Manalili shouldered the load for Letran with 28 points, nine assists, and six rebounds.
The Scores:
First Game:
JRU 82 - Hubilla 22, Mangubat 19, Laurenaria 11, Salvador 11, Garupil 6, Eligado 6, Lozano 3, Panapanaan 2, Herrera 2, Garcia 0, Masiglat 0, Duque 0, Palis 0.
LETRAN 73 - Manalili 28, Estrada 12, Diamante 12, Buensalida 7, Santos 7, Cargo 4, Gammad 2, Siena 1, Sison-Walker 0, Hugo 0, Montecillo 0, Villanueva 0.
Quarters: 23-16, 47-36, 66-50, 82-73.
Second Game:
SAN BEDA 93 - Calimag 27, Sarigumba 17, Torculas 14, Estacio 11, Etulle 10, Bonzalida 8, Hawkins 2, Puno 2, Songcuya 2, Jamora 0, Jalbuena 0, Ugaddan 0.
UP 72 - Pre 10, Alter 10, Payosing 10, Poyos 9, Stevens 8, Palanca 8, Yniguez 8, Dimaculangan 4, Ogana 3, Bayla 2, Remogat 0, Andres 0.
Quarters: 24-15, 37-35, 68-48, 93-72.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
