After failing to close-out its last three games, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals finally kept its composure in the clutch and arrest its five game skid in a 73-67 win over the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“The last few games made us stronger, puro close. Maganda ang ginawa nun para sa amin para mai-close namin ang laro na ito,” a teary-eyed EAC head coach Ariel Sison shared after the game. “I thought I won’t be here anymore.”
“We just kept on trying hard everyday in our practice. Thank God it happened today.”
Cameroonian big man Hamadou Laminou and gunslinger Jorem Morada led the Generals with 18 points each. Laminou also grabbed 16 boards and had five swats in the game while Morada led the EAC comeback, scoring seven points in the final frame.
The Generals were down by as much as 10 points early in the third canto but the troika of Laminou, Igee King, and Dan Corilla slowly chipped in to the lead. Free throws by Corilla with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter gave EAC a 53-51 edge entering the final frame.
“Our last few games were very sayang and yesterday our coached talked to us that we kept on losing close games,” Laminou said about his team’s third quarter rally that saw EAC outscore Baste 23-13. “Today, we just kept fighting and we kept fighting.”
With the game tied at 56-all, Morada slashed through the lanes, scoring six points in a 7-2 rally to give his team a 63-58 lead with 6:39 remaining. However, turnovers by the Generals led to baskets for Michael Calisaan and Chester Serajosef to keep the Recoletos-based squad in the game.
“Unang-una, nagdadasal talaga ako sa Diyos at hard work, just keep on shooting,” Morada said after taking home his second player of the game crown this season. “Hindi naman in-underestimate yung Baste dahil tinambakan kami nung preseason. Madami kami natutunan sa larong ito.”
Gunslinger Regile Ilagan was able to knock down a long bomb with 1:56 remaining to cut the EAC lead to just two, 65-67, with 1:56 left in the game. Munsayac though was able to find a slashing Igee King for a layup 16 seconds later.
In the ensuing possession, Alvin Baetiong and Laminou figured in a physical rebounding scrum that led to Baetiong committing a costly unsportsmanlike foul on EAC’s FSA. The big man though split his charities and missed a jumper that led to a quick jumper by Calisaan on the other end to cut the lead to just three with a minute to go in the game.
Misses though by Calisaan and Jerick Fabian led to a breakaway layup for Sidney Onwubere while an emphatic block by Laminou on a layup attempt by Baetiong proved to be the icing on the cake.
“Last year, when we achieved our second win it was already in the second round,” Sison added. “We are happy to have achieved this in the first round and the round is not yet over.”
Onwubere added 13 markers for the Generals
For San Sebastian, Michael Calisaan notched his best game of the season with 15 points on 33 percent shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Regille Ilagan though was limited to just a horrid 2-for-9 shooting clip for 11 points.
After shooting at a passable 35 percent from the field in the first half, the Stags went cold, ending the game on just a horrid 28 percent clip. On the other hand, the Generals shot 42 percent from the field while converting on 20 of its 31 free throw attempts.
The EAC Generals (2-5) next face the Perpetual Altas (4-2) on Tuesday, August 2 at 12:00nn. The San Sebastian Stags (1-6) look to ends its six game losing skid on the same day against the JRU Heavy Bombers (2-4) at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
EAC (73) – Laminou 18, Morada 18, Onwubere 13, King 9, Corilla 5, Munsayac 4, Serrano 4, Neri 2, Pascua 0, Guzman 0, Diego 0
SSC-R (67) – Calisaan 15, Ilagan 11, Sera Josef 7, Bulanadi 7, Mercado 6, Capobres 6, Fabian 4, Costelo 4, Gayosa 3, Baetiong 2, Quipse 2, Valdez 0, Johnson 0
Quarterscores: 13-21, 30-38, 53-51, 73-67
