Jose Rizal University ended the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament elimination round with a stunner high note after taking down defending champion Colegio de San Juan de Letran with a wire-to-wire 87-71 win, Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Heavy Bombers broke their six-game losing skid, finishing with a 7-11 standing in seventh place.
The Knights, on other hand, fell to the second seed, just behind College of St. Benilde with a 13-5 record.
The Heavy Bombers started to explode in the third period, 48-38. Marwin Dionisio and Agem Miranda carried the scoring load to take away a 66-52 entering the payoff period.
JRU held Letran to only 3-of-10 field goals and 14 points in the third quarter.
The Heavy Bombers then never looked back in the fourth frame, scoring a total of 21 points in that quarter courtesy of Ry Dela Rosa, JL Delos Santos, and Dionisio.
The Knights were only able to get as close as six, 69-75, off a Brent Paraiso layup with 3:48 left in the contest.
JRU’s lead ballooned to its biggest at 16 points, 87-71 off a Dela Rosa corner triple with 10.9 left in the game.
“I don’t know kung… ‘Di ko alam iyong lalaruin ng Letran. Definitely, gusto manalo niyan kasi siyempre, gusto rin naman nilang pumasok doon sa Final Four na high note. Pero kami, ganun talaga, yung game plan is let’s try to do things. And ito yung gawin natin – ilabas natin iyong natutunan natin throughout the season,” said JRU head coach Louie Gonzalez.
“And play with confidence as long as you do it doon sa boundaries ng sistema natin. Kasi yun ang gusto kong makita, I told my boys.. Let’s start today with a smile. Gusto ko nang i-relase ‘yung pressure sa kanila. I know it’s been tough for these kids and I’m sure marami silang natutunan,” he added.
The Knights committed a total of 17 turnovers in the game with only 23-of-57 shooting from the field and cold 3-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc.
It was a well-distributed production for JRU. Dela Rosa scored his eight of 22 points built on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor, to go with only an assist and 18 in the plus-minus department. Dionisio produced 16 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a block, while Joshua Guiab chimed in 14 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and an assist.
Delos Santos and Miranda both got 11 points each as well, with the former flirting a double-double with nine assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Meanwhile, the latter contributed six assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
King Caralipio led the Knights as he flirted a double-double of 15 points on a 5-of-11 shooting clip, alongside nine rebounds. Paraiso got 12 points of his own with four rebounds and two steals.
Fran Yu notched 10 points with a cold 1-of-3 shooting from the floor, four assists, a rebound, and a steal.
Louie Sangalang was also iced on the field with 2-of-7 attempts to go with seven markers, six boards, and three assists
Based on the standings, Letran will now face Intramuros neighbor Lyceum of the Philippines University on November 29 at 3:00 PM. On the other hand, top seed CSB will have a rematch against San Beda University in the semifinals, also on the 29th, earlier the day.
The Scores:
JRU 87 –– Dela Rosa 22, Dionisio 16, Guiab 14, Delos Santos 11, Miranda 11, Medina 7, Arenal 2, Celis 2, Abaoag 2, De Jesus 0, Tan 0.
Letran 71 — Caralipio 15, Paraiso 12, Yu 10, Sangalang 7, Monje 7, Tolentino 7, Javillonar 5, Ariar 4, Santos 4, Reyson 0, Olivario 0, Guarino 0, Miclat 0, Lantaya 0, Bautista 0.
Quarterscores: 21-15, 48-38, 66-52, 87-71.
