By: Brenn Flores
Emilio Aguinaldo College halted a late collapse and defeated the Arellano University Chiefs, 87-80, in overtime to kickstart their NCAA Season 100 campaign at the Filoil EcoOil Centre on Sunday, September 8.
Kriss Gurtiza tallied 18 points, three assists, and four rebounds for the Generals. Meanwhile, Harvey Pagsanjan and Nobie Lucero contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively.
In overtime, Gurtiza took over, hitting a three-pointer followed by a floater to clear the way for the Generals to outlast the tiring Chiefs.
Gurtiza attributed the team’s ability to handle the Chiefs’ comeback to their maturity.
“Sabi lang ni coach, ‘stay composed’ kasi yun yung mga talo namin last season eh. Yun mga lamang na kami tapos nahahaol pa kami sa dulo,” Gurtiza said.
“Lamang kami all throughout the game tapos mahahabol kami then lalamang sila. Yun ‘yong composure – lagi kong sinasabi sa kanila na ‘yon yung composure talaga yung pinaka-importante lalo na’t madami kaming beterano sa team,” he added.
After dominating most of the game, the Generals entered the final frame with a one-point lead until Troy Valencia made a layup to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 62-61.
The game then turned into a back-and-forth battle as both teams traded leads. With less than 30 seconds remaining in regulation, Gil Quinal hit a three-pointer to put the Generals up by two, 77-75.
However, Cyril Hernal made a clutch layup to tie the game at 77-all and force overtime after Quinal missed a game-winning floater.
Lorenz Capulong led Arellano with 19 points.
Emilio Aguinaldo College will next face last year’s finalists, Mapua University, at the same venue on Wednesday, September 11, at 2:30 PM.
The Scores:
EAC 87 – Gurtiza 18, Pagsanjan 13, Lucero 11, Quinal 9, Oftana 9, Doromal 8, Ochavo 7, Loristo 4, Manacho 4, Ageles 2, Bagay 2, Luciano 0, Umpad 0, Bacud 0.
Arellano 80 – Capulong 19, Valencia 16, Vinoya 13, Ongotan 10, Hernal 5, Acop 5, Camay 5, De Leon 4, Estacio 2, Miller 2, Borromeo 0, Espiritu 0, Dela Cruz 0, Libang 0, Geronimo 0.
Quarterscores: 24-17, 46-38, 60-59, 77-77, 87-80.
