The Arellano University Chiefs took down rivals Emilio Aguinaldo Generals in a wire-to-wire win, 79-72, to take their first win of the 2016 FilOil Flying V Preseason Premier Cup, early Wednesday afternoon at the FilOil Flying V Centre.
AU took the early lead and never looked back, posting a lead thatwent to as high as 16, 40-24, with three minutes left at the first half. The Generals were able to come back and trim the deficit to single digits before the break, 34-40, ending with a Francis Munsayac triple.
EAC kept the game close in the third quarter but a Jiovanni Jalalon trey restored a double-digit advantage for the Chiefs. Zach Nicholls kept the Chiefs above and poured in most of his 10 points in this period.
“The goal talaga for this game is to use a lot of players just to give them exposure and experience,” Arellano head coach Jerry Condinera said. “Talagang tight talaga kasi gusto talaga maglaro ni Jio (Jalalon) at ni Kent (Salado).”
The Generals attempted a last-ditch run in the final period as they cut the deficit down to 7, 63-70, with a fastbreak layup from Raymund Pascua. Jalalon and Kent Salado buckled down to work and steadied the ship for the Chiefs while Nicholls knocked down another triple with less than two minutes left to put the win away for good.
Team Captain Jalalon led all scorers for the Chiefs with 18 points, while Nicholls followed up with 10 points off 50% shooting. Arellano played 18 players in the game today.
“Yung chemistry medyo wala pa talaga. Yung integration ng mga bago sa mga lumang players wala pa,” Condinera disclosed. “In-eevaluate pa namin yung players namin kasi iba talaga pag Team A laban sa Team A na. Iba na pagnakita nila yung Arena at yung prestige ng Filoil.”
Big man Hamadou Laminou paced the Generals with 16 markers and six boards. Munsayac knocked down four triples en route to 14 points while the returning Jorem Morada added 12 points.
The Arellano Chiefs (A, 1-0) next face the Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Saturday, May 7 at 5:00pm. On the other hand, the Generals (A, 0-1) will have the Perpetual Altas next on their slate as they face-off on Wednesday, May 11 at 9:30am.
The Scores:
AU (79) – Jalalon 18, Nicholls 10, Canete 9, Gumaru 8, Enriquez, 7, Salado 5, Flores 5, Aguilar 4, Rivera 4, Holts 2, Meca 2, Gupilan 2, Filart 1, Cadavis 0, Abanes 0, Alcoriza 0, Ongolo-ongolo 0.
EAC (72) – Laminou 16, Munsayac 14, Morada 12, Onwubere 12, Guzman 4, King 4, Diego 2, Pascua 2, Estacio 2, Mendoza 1, Corilla 1, Aguas 0.
Quarterscores: 26-15, 40-34, 66-53, 79-72.
