Jose Rizal University banked on a fiery 5-0 windup in the last five seconds to beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 61-60, on Friday in the Season 98 National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The win arrested the Heavy Bombers’ three-game losing skid as they boosted their record to 6-5 not after being pushed on the verge of defeat by the Generals.
The points that mattered most were provided by John Amores and Agen Miranda.
Down 60-56 with 10.7 ticks remaining, Amores sank a triple from way out to push the Heavy Bombers to within one.
“It was designed. He’s really firing blanks but I just want to show Amores my trust,” Jose Rizal head coach Louie Gonzales said, stressing that had absolute faith on the player despite flubbing two attempts from beyond the arc.
Sensing danger and now in panic mode, Emilio Aguinaldo crumbled in the dying seconds when Adrian Balowa missed two free throws with 4.1 on the clock.
The Generals with fouls to give, tagged John Delos Santos to stop the clock at one second. A long lull ensued as officials reset the clock back to 2.6 ticks.
It was enough time for Gonzales and the Heavy Bombers to plot their miracle play.
“I think there’s already divine intervention. A lull gave me a chance to design a play and organize our movement. From that, we got at least a direction for that last play,” he said.
Miranda administered the coup d grace with a jumper from a Delos Santos pass, leaving the Generals bench in disbelief. Miranda and Ry dela Rosa led the way for Jose Rizal with 12 points each.
Miranda shot 6-of-15 from the field and pulled down 11 rebounds while Jason Celis got 10 and John Delos Santos had four assists.
JRU entered the fourth quarter with a 51-41 advantage.
The Generals mounted a spirited 16-0 rally capped by back-to-back baskets by rookie Joshua Tolentino for a 60-56 lead with just 1:07 remaining in the payoff period.
Nat Cosejo led EAC with 16 points and 13 rebounds while JP Maguilano scored 15 in a lost cause as the also-ran Generals fell to a 1-13 card at the bottom of the standings.
The Scores:
JRU (61) — Miranda 12, Dela Rosa 12, Celis 10, Sy 9, Amores 5, Arenal 3, Dionisio 2, Delos Santos 2, Guiab 2, Medina 2, Tan 2, De Jesus 0, Abaoag 0, Gonzales 0.
EAC (60) — Cosejo 16, Maguliano 15, Liwag 5, Ad. Doria 5, Balowa 4, Luciano 4, Dominguez 4, Tolentino 4, Angeles 2, Quinal 1, An. Doria 0, Cosa 0.
Quarters: 16-12, 31-27, 51-41, 61-60.
