Coming off their conquest of Arellano, the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers rode their momentum, stunning the University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Altas in a wire-to-wire win, 71-66, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“Actually, yung winning the last game, nagkaroon kami ng confidence doon,” said first-year JRU head coach Louie Gonzalez. “Entering the game we are more relaxed but I still made sure na hindi kami mawala sa focus. We are making sure na yung katawan nila sumusunod na lang sa sistema.”
JRU rose to 2-3 while dropping Perpetual to its third straight loss for a 1-3 slate in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball Tournament.
Behind John Amores and Marwin Dionisio, JRU had a strong start, leading by as much as 14 points.
Amores had 15 points while Dionisio added 12 markers.
“We are lucky to have players na matatapang,” shared Gonzalez.
Behind the quartet of Kim Aurin, Edgar Charcos, Tonton Peralta, and Jielo Razon, Perpetual stormed back, cutting the lead down to just three, 56-53, with 8:13 left.
The game though had a slight delay afterward as the shot clock malfunctioned.
“When they had a run, sinabi ko sa players na hindi kami ganun. During the lull, kinausap ko sila na maging advantage ito sa amin at hindi kami mag-breakdown. After that, nagtuloy-tuloy sila,” said Gonzalez.
JL Delos Santos and Ry Dela Rosa restored order in a 13-5 run to restore the lead back to 14 with 3:50 remaining.
Though Aurin tried to will Perpetual back, time was not of the essence.
Dela Rosa had 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists while Delos Santos tallied seven points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
Aurin paced Perpetual with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting while Charcos and Peralta added 13 markers each.
JRU will have a tough task in its next outing when it faces the Lyceum Pirates on Friday, July 26 at 2:00 pm. Perpetual, on the other hand, looks to snap out of its skid when it squares off against Arellano on Tuesday, July 30.
The Scores:
JRU 71 – Amores 15, Dela Rosa 12, Dionisio 12, Steinl 12, Miranda 11, Delos Santos 7, Aguilar 2, Arenal 0, Jungco 0, Vasquez 0
UPHSD 66 – Aurin 14, Charcos 13, Peralta 13, Egan 7, Adamos 6, Razon 5, Cuevas 3, Sevilla 2, Barasi 0, Giussani 0, Lanoy 0
Quarterscores: 17-11, 41-28, 56-52, 71-66
