Just like what all but one of the teams in the NCAA have done, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals blew out the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, 76-56, to end the first round on a high note, while sending the latter to a winless round, Thursday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Four Generals scored in double-figures, led by 16 markers by Sidney Onwubere. He went 7-for-10 from the field, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five dimes. Remy Morada added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“Very sweet. We surpassed already our standing last year,” said EAC head coach Ariel Sison after notching the school’s third win — one more than their total last season. “Hopefully, this one-week break, will give us time para mas mag-improve.”
“Very happy, very thankful for today.”
The Blazers were able to keep pace with the Generals up until the third frame. With the EAC lead just down to seven, 50-43, with 2:09 left in the quarter, Ronald Pascua sparked a game-breaking 22-4 rally.
The rally saw Morada score four points after breaking down the light CSB defense with his dribbling. It was then capped by back-to-back triples by Francis Munsayac, who scored nine points in the game, and Pascua, who finished with 10. The furious General also led to the biggest lead of the game, 72-47, with 4:13 remaining in the game.
“That’s what we worked out,” Sison said about his team’s 43 percent shooting clip during the game. “After the nightmare, we worked on our shooting and I’m glad na kahit papano, may na-shoot ngayon.”
Hamadou Laminou added 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 blocks for EAC.
For the Blazers, Carlo Young was the high-point man with 14 points, but was just 6-for-18 from the field. Yankee Haruna and Christian Fajarito added 13 and 11 points respectively.
Benilde shot just 35 percent from the field. Moreover, the porous defense gave up 21 fouls that led to 21 free throw attempts for EAC. The Blazers were just 2-for-8 from the stripe.
The EAC Generals finish the first round with a 3-6 slate, good for eighth place. On the other hand, the Benilde Blazers end the round winless, going 0-9.
The Scores:
EAC (76) – Onwubere 16, Laminou 14, Morada 13, Pascua 10, Munsayac 9, Corilla 5, Aguas 4, King 3, Diego 2, Neri 0, Guzman 0, Estacio 0, General 0, Mendoza 0, Serrano 0.
CSB (56) – Young 14, Haruna 13, Fajarito 11, Belgica 4, San Juan 4, Domingo JJ 4, Castor 2, Dixon 2, Pasamante 2, Sta. Maria 0, Domingo JS 0, Pajarillaga 0.
Quarterscores: 16-15, 40-33, 53-43, 76-56.
