Mark Esperanza and Datu Usop came through in the clutch to steer their respective squads to breakthrough victories in the NCAA Season 101 Juniors Basketball Tournament on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Esperanza capped off a stellar debut for San Sebastian College-Recoletos with two pressure-packed free throws to seal a thrilling 72-71 escape against Mapua University.
Earlier, Datu Usop powered Jose Rizal University to its own nail-biting 66-64 win over La Salle Green Hills to end a three-game losing skid in Group B.
Esperanza, a former Adamson Baby Falcon, who missed the team’s first three outings due to suspension for playing in the Jr. MPBL, made up for lost time by leading the Staglets with 23 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
With the Staglets down by one in the dying seconds, the 18-year-old guard grabbed a crucial defensive rebound and pushed the ball in transition, drawing a foul on Froilan Reyes with just two ticks left on the clock.
Esperanza calmly drained both charities to deliver San Sebastian’s first win of the season and snap Malayan High School’s two-game winning streak.
Browyn Tepan and JC Ynot added 13 and 11 points, respectively, for the Staglets, who improved to 1-3 in Group A.
(C) NCAA/GMA
Meanwhile, Usop was instrumental down the stretch—first knocking down a jumper to tie the game at 59-all, then setting up CJ Satparam for a clutch triple that gave the Light Bombers a 62-59 lead with under two minutes left.
Following a costly turnover from Patrick Pasinos, Usop converted a layup, while Prince Mallorca added another bucket to stretch JRU’s lead to 66-61 with 1:02 remaining.
The Greenies fought back but ran out of time, allowing JRU to finally enter the win column at 1-3.
Usop finished with 24 points, three rebounds, a steal, and a block. Satparam and Mallorca added eight points each, with the latter also grabbing 10 rebounds.
Kean Dungca led the Red Robins with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Jhillian Palis chipped in 15 as Malayan slipped to 2-2.
Josef Calo-oy led LSGH with 20 points, while Pasinos registered a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds in the loss that dropped the Greenies to 2-2.
