By: Joaquin Cortez
Mapúa University fended off a furious Emilio Aguinaldo College fightback, weathering late heroics from MJ Raymundo to escape with an 89-84 overtime victory and claim its third straight win in the NCAA Season 102 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
With Mapúa clinging to a 72-70 lead in the final 10 seconds of regulation, Emilio Aguinaldo refused to go quietly. Raymundo inbounded the ball to Jude Bagay, who quickly returned the pass to Raymundo for the game-tying layup with four seconds left, knotting the game at 72-all.
Cyrus Cuenco had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but the Generals swarmed the Mapúa guard and forced his three-pointer off target, sending the game into overtime.
The Cardinals, however, wasted little time taking control in the extra period, opening with a 9-0 blitz capped by Cuenco’s triple to stretch their lead to 81-72 with 2:12 remaining.
The Generals mounted one last push, but time was no longer on their side as the Cardinals held their ground to secure the victory.
“During the overtime, I told them na ‘this is just another grinding game for us.’ We needed to move forward from our rookie mistakes ng bagong players namin,“ said Mapúa head coach Chito Victolero. “I need to be patient with these guys because I know there are a lot of rookies.
“I think it’s a big help for us na meron kaming beterano like Ivan and Cuenco na nag-step up in crunch time,” he added.
Neither side was willing to give an inch as the payoff period got underway, with Ivan Lazarte and EJ Castillo trading triples to keep the contest deadlocked at 60-all.
The lead continued to change hands before Yam Concepcion split his free throws to give the Cardinals some breathing room at 66-63 with 3:51 remaining.
Bagay’s free throws kept the Generals within striking distance before Cuenco answered with a triple off a timeout, then calmly sank both shots from the charity stripe to restore Mapúa’s six-point cushion, 71-65.
Bagay gave EAC another lifeline after banking in a midrange jumper to cut the deficit to three with 51 seconds left, making it 71-68.
Cuenco then had a chance to put the game out of reach, but his three-pointer went awry with more than 30 seconds remaining. Wilmar Oftana and Castillo also missed their attempts from deep on the ensuing possessions, but Raymundo’s late-game heroics ultimately kept the Generals alive and forced overtime.
After losing their first three games, the Cardinals have now won their last three to improve to 3-3, while the Generals slipped to 2-4.
Cuenco spearheaded the Cardinals’ offense with a game-high 28 points, four rebounds, and four assists, while Lazarte added a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Generals, Castillo paced the bench with 19 points and three rebounds. Three of EAC’s five starters also finished in double figures, with Oftana tallying 12 points and four rebounds, while Bagay and Ochavo chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Both teams will return to action on Monday, Oct. 12, with Mapúa facing Colegio de San Juan de Letran at 3:00 p.m., while Emilio Aguinaldo takes on Jose Rizal University at 5:00 p.m.
The Scores:
Mapúa 89 – Cuenco 28, Lazarte 24, Diaz 8, Concepcion 7, Bernabe 7, Liwanag 6, Reyes 4, Igliane 4, Dones 1, L. Nitura 0, Razon 0.
Emilio Aguinaldo 84 – Castillo 19, Oftana 12, Bagay 11, Ochavo 10, H. Raymundo 9, Shanoda 9, M. Raymundo 6, Nunag 5, Coronel 2, Sealey 1, Bonus 0.
Quarterscores: 22-20, 37-36, 53-54, 72-72, 89-84.
