14 days before the second anniversary of the infamous brawl between Mapua and EAC, the two squads figured in another physical contest. After the dust had settled and three unsportsmanlike fouls were assessed, the Mapua Institute of Technology Cardinals had notched an 82-72 win over the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals to keep solo fourth place, Thursday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Andrew Estrella continued his spectacular play, dropping a double-double with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 10 rebounds to go along with six dimes.
Almel Orquina also sizzled with 18 points on 70 percent shooting, while Darell Menina and JR Raflored added 14 points apiece.
“Na-inspire lang ako sa mga sinasabi ni coach,” the rookie Orquina said.
After a slow first half, the Cardinals were able to surge past the Generals in the third frame behind eight points by Orquina and six markers by Raflores. Estrella then continued to bombard the Generals in the early parts of the final frame, dropping floater after floater to give Mapua a game-high 17 point lead, 73-56 with 4:01 remaining.
“Ginawa lang namin ang sistema at nagtiwala lang sa teammates,” Menina said about the game that saw them shoot at a blistering 49 percent from the field. “At dumepensa kami kasi dun manggagaling opensa namin.”
The Generals were able to cut the lead down to just 10. However, after with 1:57 remaining, things got chippy between the two teams.
The seeds of the confrontations that occurred in the end-game started with a small skirmish between Laurenz Victoria and Hamadou Laminou during a loose ball scrum. This was then followed by an unsportmanlike foul called on Justin Serrano against Onwubere with 1:57 remaining. Then a final flagrant foul was called against Estrella after a strong body bump against Francis Munsayac that almost led to a heated exchange.
“Lambing lang yun or na-miss [lang ang isa’t isa] ata,” Menina shared.
Free throws by Serrano, one coming from a controversial foul called on Hamadou Laminou, bucked any hope of a General comeback. The two teams then peacefully exchanged pleasantries afterwards.
Francis Munsayac led EAC with 25 points. Onwubere finished the game with 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Hamadou Laminou had 13 points and 12 boards.
The Mapua Cardinals (4th, 9-5) will next face Intramuros neighbors, the Letran Knights, on Tuesday, September 13 at 4:00pm. The EAC Generals (7th, 5-10) look to salvage what is left of the season, facing the San Sebastian Stags on Thursday, September 15 at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
MIT (82) – Estrella 19, Orquina 18, Menina 14, Raflores 14, Eriobu 8, Serrano 4, Aguirre 2, Oraeme 2, Isit 1, Bunag 0, Victoria 0.
EAC (72) – Munsayac 25, Onwubere 14, Laminou 13, King 7, Morada 5, Mendoza 4, Diego 2, Neri 2, Corilla 0, Guzman 0, Pascua 0, Serrano 0.
Quarterscores: 15-19, 36-36, 62-53, 82-72.
