Coach Jamike Jarin’s debut with the National University Bulldogs ended in victory, but not everything had gone as planned.
“Goddamnit!” exclaimed an exhausted yet relieved Jarin. And it was indeed a pulsating debut for the one-time NCAA champion coach, as the National University Bulldogs had barely escaped the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 87-85, in Group B action in the 2017 Filoil Flying V Premier Cup.
“I’d like to forget that we played well because we didn’t deserve to win. With the way we played, we didn’t deserve to win,” Jarin, who was signed by the NU Bulldogs last November, furthered.
JJay Alejandro was on fire in the first half, scoring 18 of his 25 points in the first half. But his biggest shot came when the Bulldogs needed it the most.
Off a Francis Munsayac miss, NU’s skipper raced to the other side of the court, knocking down a huge layup with 16.5 ticks to go to put NU up ahead for good.
EAC had multiple chances to at least tie the ball game, but transferee Juju Bautista missed a couple of lay-ins, while Hamadou Laminou was stripped by rookie point guard Enzo Joson to seal the win.
“The reason why the result went to our side is they got tired. If it was a five-quarter game, we would have won but they had enough just to come back,” Jarin continued.
Alejandro also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists, while Matt Salem added 20 points and seven rebounds.
Another transferee shone for the Generals as Jerome Garcia scored a team-high 16 points. Cameroonian student-athlete Hamadou Laminou filled up the statsheet with 15 points, 18 rebounds, and six swats.
EAC were up by as much as 14 points early in the first quarter, but skipper Sidney Onwubere did not return to the game after spraining his left ankle in the second stanza.
NU will next face the Arellano Chiefs on Friday, May 12, at 5:00pm. On the other hand, EAC take on the San Sebastian Golden Stags on Wednesday, May 10 at 11:15am.
The Scores:
NU (87) – Alejandro 25, Salem 20, Gaye 8, Rangel 8, Yu 6, Abatayo 5, Diputado 4, Galvelo 3, Joson 2, Flores 2, Mosqueda 2, Lastimosa 2, Bartlett 0, Morido 0, Cauilan 0, Go 0, Aquino 0, Sistoza 0.
EAC (85) – Garcia 16, Laminou 15, Munsayac 14, Diego 11, Bautista 7, Mendoza I 6, Neri 5, Onwubere 4, Mendoza J 4, Bugarin 2, Guzman 1, Corilla 0, Gonzales 0, Tampoc 0, Pascua 0.
Quarterscores: 15-29, 44-50, 70-65, 87-85
