By: Joaquin Cortez
Mapúa University fended off a furious Emilio Aguinaldo College fightback, weathering the late heroics of MJ Raymundo to escape with an 89-84 overtime victory and capture 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, allowing him to finish the game-tying layup with four seconds remaining and knot 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-point attempt 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 escape with the victory.
After losing their first three games, Mapúa has now won three straight to improve to 3-3, while the Generals slipped to 2-4.
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.
