By Rom Anzures
Mapua University had to dig deep to open its NCAA Season 98 Juniors Basketball campaign, earning a 74-70 overtime win against La Salle Green Hills, Wednesday at Emilio Aguinaldo College Gymnasium.
Down by three late in the fourth, Joaquin Coronel and Sean Salvador were able to overtake the Junior Blazers, 62-60 after a triple from Coronel followed by Salvador’s three free throws.
Santi Romero was able to tie the game at 62 after a follow-up on his two missed freebies, sending the game into overtime.
Salvador topscored for the Red Robins with 15 points and six rebounds, five of them coming in between their 7-0 run in overtime.
LSGH’s Rod Alian cut Mapua’s lead to one, 70-71, with an and-one finish late in overtime, but Mapua capitalized on the Greenies’ costly errors in the end game. He led the team with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Seven Gagate got 13 points and five rebounds while Luis Pablo added eight points and 13 boards.
In the second game of the tournament – the first since Season 95 – Colegio de San Juan de Letran survived a hot-shooting fourth quarter from San Sebastian College-Recoletos, taking a 91-86 victory, to get its first win.
Down 67-73 early in the fourth after back-to-back triples from the Staglets’ Mark Danag. The Squires fought back to tie the game at 73, highlighted by a breakaway dunk from Andy Gemao right at the 7:33-mark.
San Sebastian regained its lead, 79-76, after Danag drained another pair of triples. But it was not enough to stop the momentum of Letran. He finished the game with 23 points and 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
Gemao led the Squires with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The Squires also got solid contributions from Jonathan Manalili, Jolo Navarro, and George Diamante, who put up 14, 11, and 10 respectively.
Meanwhile, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA spoiled the comeback hopes of Arellano University in its 71-69 triumph.
The Junior Altas were up by as much as 15 as they imposed their inside presence, but the Braves showed better ball movement in the second half, which allowed them to reduce the deficit into single digits.
Paul Reguera hit two huge triples in the dying seconds of the game to cut Perpetual’s lead to two, 71-69, which kept the door open for Arellano.
Cristian Vergara failed to ice the game for the Junior Altas after missing two late-game free throws, but their two-point cushion was enough for the Las Piñas-based to get the win.
Lebron Daep led the Junior Altas with 18 points, eight boards, and four rejections while Amiel Acido got 14 points, 13 rebounds, and two steals.
James Moore paced the Braves with 19 points while Paul Reguera added 15 markers on 21 attempts.
The Scores:
First Game
Mapua (74) — Salvador 15, Gonzales 10, Mulingtapang 10, Rodriguez 9, Coronel 9, Agemenyi 7, Morenos 6, Masiglat 4, Go 3, Valiña 1, Catapang 0, Dayrit 0, Manuel 0.
Benilde-LSGH (70) — Allan 17, Mesias 15, Gagate 13, Pablo 8, Ison 8, S. Romero 4, Rivero 3, Zaragosa 2, Muyela 0, Villaver 0, Natividad 0, R. Romero 0, Gomez 0, Hacuela 0.
Quarterscores: 16-12, 33-30, 46-47, 62-62, 74-70
Second Game
Letran (91) — Gemao 15, Manalili 14, Navarro 11, Diamante 10, Padilla 8, Alforque 7, Silorio 7, Cruz 6, Anabo 6, Baliling 5, Hugo 2, Dural 0, Datumalim 0, Cuajao 0, Reyes 0.
SSC-R (86) — Danag 23, De Leon 14, Jardinico 9, Balbao 9, Parba 8, Reyes 8, Hernandez 6, Geronimo 5, Bularin 2, Porcadas 1, Datario 1, Bandino 0, Caysido 0, Rojas 0.
Quarterscores: 19-22, 40-46, 65-65, 91-86
Third Game
Perpetual (71) — Daep 18, Acido 14, Pagulayan 12, Callangan 8, Mascariñas 5, Vergara 4, Canlas 4, Montemayor 3, Bernaldez 3, De Aia 0, Kress 0, Valencia 0, Montero 0, Rojas 0.
Arellano (69) — Moore 19, Reguera 15, Mendoza 8, Panapanaan 5, Pondoc 4, Mallari 4, Yu 4, Distrito 3, Espinosa 2, Nambi 2, Jimenez 2, Jalalon 1.
Quarterscores: 22-15, 44-34, 60-53, 71-69
