The Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals took another close win against the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, 63-60, Tuesday afternoon, to snap the Heavy Bombers’ four-game winning streak. However, the game had a controversial ending, putting the game under protest.
The controversial play arose with 16.6 ticks remaining. After a split from the foul stripe by Jorem Morada placed the Generals on top, 63-60, the Heavy Bombers, with no timeouts remaining, went all-out to try and tie the game.
Jordan dela Paz got the rebound on a miss by Teytey Teodoro. The ball found its way back to Teodoro, who tried to throw a desperation heave with .2 seconds remaining over the trailing Morada. The referee blew the whistle, calling for a foul with .2 seconds remaining. However, upon review, the referee waived off the call, much to the chagrin of the Heavy Bombers.
“Naka-protest daw sila. Okay lang sa akin yun, walang problema sa akin yun,” EAC head coach Ariel Sison said. “Let them decide basta sa akin nakita namin na panalo kami. There was no contact called.”
Sidney Onwubere helped buck JRU’s second half turnaround, scoring 12 huge fourth quarter points. He finished the game with a game-high 26 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field, 11-of-14 from the stripe. He added nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals to his statline.
The Heavy Bombers were down by as much as 17 points, 36-19, after a basket by Onwubere with 8:30 remaining in the third frame. Sophomore guard MJ Dela Virgen, who scored 12 points in the game, led the third quarter comeback that eventually saw JRU tie the game at 41-all with 28 seconds remaining in the stanza.
Finding their momentum, the Heavy Bombers rally continued into the final frame. Baskets by Ervin Grospe and Paolo Pontejos gave their team a 46-43 edge early in the fourth period.
“Sabi ko sa kanila relax lang. Hindi namin puwede madaliin,” Sison shared. “Kahit gusto namin matapos yung oras, may fourth quarter pa. We had to slow ourselves down and make baskets.”
The two teams then exchanged rallies and leads. With the game tied at 60-all with 46 seconds remaining, Morada was able to find Hamadou Laminou for the go-ahead basket. Abdulwahab Abdulrazak was fouled by Irvin Mendoza afterwards. However, JRU’s big man missed both charities. A split on the stripe by Morada afterwards proved to be enough, despite the controversial ending.
“Nandiyan na yung character namin at na-buibuild ng maayos,” Sison said about his team. “Thankful ako sa mga close games na pinagdadaanan namin. Thankful na nanalo kami ngayon.”
Teytey Teodoro struggled in the game, scoring just eight points on a horrid 3-of-16 shooting. Moreover, JRU shot a horrid 29 percent from the field.
The EAC Generals (9th, 4-8) will next face the Lyceum Pirates (T-6th, 5-8) on Friday, September 2, at 2:00pm. The Heavy Bombers (5th, 6-6) have the hapless Benilde Blazers next, on the same day at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
EAC (63) – Onwubere 26, Laminou 19, Munsayac 6, Morada 4, Guzman 3, Neri 3, Corilla 2, Diego 0, King 0, Mendoza 0, Pascua 0.
JRU (60) – Dela Virgen 12, Cruz 8, Teodoro 8, Abdulwahab 6, Poutouochi 6, Grospe 6, Dela Paz 4, Mendoza 4, Pontejos 4, Lasquety 2, Dada 0.
Quarterscores: 14-8, 34-19, 43-41, 63-60.
