Allen Liwag and Emilio Aguinaldo College earned its second win in the 2022 Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup’s Group A, escaping Arellano University with a 68-66 victory, Sunday in San Juan City.
With both teams tied at 60-all, Liwag, a member of the NCAA Season 97 Mythical Team, sparked an 8-0 spurt to give the Generals a 68-60 lead with 5:55 remaining.
The Chiefs though countered as Cade Flores and Wilmart Oftana cut the lead down to two.
With 13 seconds left, Flores tried to tie the game with a jumper but missed.
“Actually, we were hoping na it’s gonna be a, not really an easy game, but not unlike this na talagang very tiring,” said EAC head coach Oliver Bunyi.
With the win, the Generals climbed up to solo fourth in their pool with a 2-1 record while dropping the Chiefs to their third loss in as many games.
Nat Cosejo and Liwag produced 16 points apiece, with Cosejo grabbing nine rebounds.
Ralph Robin supplied 13 points, and Jan Carl Luciano added four points with nine rebounds and five assists.
On the other hand, Oftana led the chiefs with 14 points and seven rebounds while Flores and Darrel Menina had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Flores also hauled down 12 boards.
EAC (2-1) will take on University of the Philippines on Friday at 5 PM while Arellano (0-3) will then face University of the East on Wednesday at 11 AM.
The Scores:
EAC 68 — Liwag 16, Cosejo 16, Robin 13, Luciano 4, Maguliano 4, Tolentino 3, Umpad 3, Bacud 3, Balowa 2, Gurtiza 2, An. Doria 2, Ad. Doria 0, Calum 0, Bajon 0.
Arellano 66 –– Oftana 14, Flores 12, Menina 11, Punzalan 9, Doromal 5, Valencia 5, Tolentino 3, Domingo 3, Sunga 2, Lustina 2, Mallari 0, Mantua 0, Talampas 0.
Quarterscores: 19-22, 36-34, 58-55, 68-66.
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The entire 2022 Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup will stream LIVE on Smart Sports Facebook page
