Games today:
(Filoil EcoOil Centre)
12 p.m. — EAC vs Mapua
3 p.m. — Perpetual vs Letran
Jose Rizal University stretched its winning streak to five as it halted Lyceum of the Philippines University, 63-57, in Season 98 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The Heavy Bombers pumped in a finishing 16-1 blitz in the fourth quarter to turn a 47-56 deficit into a rousing victory, which put them just a win shy of tying their longest winning run in the past seven years.
With the win, JRU now fashions a 5-2 win-loss card together with its victim and San Beda University, which booked a 96-61 win over Arellano University in the first game.
Joshua Guiab tied the game at 56 with 2:15 left before Marwin Dionisio put the Heavy Bombers on top, 59-56, with a completed three-point play.
After a Shawn Umali split on the line for the Pirates, John Amores gave JRU more breathing room off a spin move floater before Dionisio iced the match by sinking two foul shots.
Dionisio finished with 15 points while rookie William Sy had 10 markers for the Heavy Bombers.
JRU clamped down on its perimeter defense to bleed Lyceum to an atrocious 1-of-25 shooting from the outside and successfully limited Mclaude Guadaña to just seven points — all in the first half.
The Pirates saw their five-game win streak come to a screeching halt with just JM Bravo scoring in double figures with 11 points.
Meanwhile, all the Red Lions needed was a strong first quarter showing to take control and clinch the lopsided victory.
The Red Lions entered the payoff period with a season-record 51-point lead, 84-33, that gave head coach Yuri Escueta the chance to empty his bench with just one player failing to score.
JB Bahio led four other Red Lions who finished in double figures with 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
James Kwekuteye had 13 points and eight boards in just 16 minutes of play, Winston Ynot got 11 while Justine Sanchez and Jacob Cortez submitted 10 markers each for San Beda, which soothed its painful 80-83 loss to Jose Rizal University last Tuesday with a blowout victory.
“Coach has been telling us to start strong and finish strong. He told us not to relax, stay focused and just go hard. That we should show the same energy we had in the first half to the second half,” Bahio, who shot 6-of-7 from the field, said.
The Red Lions poured 29 points in the first 10 minutes while limiting the Chiefs to just nine.
San Beda, which had 21 fastbreak points, continued its scoring clinic in the next two periods with outputs of 26 and 29, respectively.
Cortez had the honor of drawing the Red Lions’ biggest lead, 84-33, with just 47 seconds left in the third off a steal for an uncontested layup.
Arellano, which had a miserable 24-of-73 shooting and an atrocious 16 turnovers that San Beda converted to 18 turnover points, slid to 4-4 card.
The Scores:
First game
SAN BEDA (96) — Kwekuteye 13, Bahio 13, Ynot 11, Sanchez 10, Cortez 10, Andrada 7, Alfaro 7, Cometa 6, Cuntapay 5, Jopia 4, Tagala 3, Payosing 3, Visser 2, Tagle 2, Alloso 0.
ARELLANO (61) — Menina 10, Doromal 8, Flores 7, Oliva 7, Sunga 7, Mantua 6, Domingo 5, Abastillas 4, Punzalan 3, Talampas 3, Mallari 1, Tolentino 0, Oftana 0.
QUARTERS: 29-9, 55-23, 84-33, 96-61.
Second game
JRU (63) — Dionisio 15, Sy 10, Amores 8, Guiab 7, Delos Santos 6, Gonzales 6, Dela Rosa 5, Medina 4, Miranda 2, Celis 0, Arenal 0, Joson 0, Villarin 0.
LYCEUM (57) — Bravo 11, Barba 9, Guadaña 7, Penafiel 7, Umali 5, Valdez 4, Cunanan 4, Larupay 3, Villegas 3, Omandac 3, Navarro 1, Montano 0.
QUARTERS: 18-16, 29-38, 43-49, 63-57.
