Emilio Aguinaldo College survived a tough challenge from Robi Nayve as they pulled away from their tie in the standings with the College of Saint Benilde after a thrilling 78-76 down-to-the-wire battle to bounce back in the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Friday at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
The Generals were coming off a lopsided 70-86 loss to San Sebastian College-Recoletos, and head coach Jerson Cabiltes used that defeat to ignite his players’ motivation for the Friday matchup.
“Especially coming from a loss against San Sebastian, and an abysmal performance, so I challenged the players in our practice,” said Cabiltes, a first year head coach with EAC. “Hanggang doon lang ba yung kaya nating ipakita? Kasi kung hanggang doon lang yung kaya natin ipakita, huwag na tayo magaspire sa final four. Sabi naman nila hindi lang yung ang kaya nila, so we played our hearts out tonight and lucky for us we got the win.”
The Generals seized control of the game early in the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run initiated by back-to-back three-pointers from Robin and capped by a layup from Kyle Ochavo, putting them ahead 65-59 with 8:07 left in the quarter.
Benilde’s luck took a turn for the worse as they lost Miguel Corteza to an ankle injury with 1:49 left in the game.
Leading by three points, 78-75, with four seconds to go, rookie Ochavo made a near game-losing mistake by fouling Nayve on a three-point attempt, giving Benilde a chance to tie the game and force overtime.
Nayve had been accurate from beyond the arc throughout the match, going 5-of-6 from three-point land.
With the game on the line, Nayve missed the first free throw, forfeiting their chance to tie. He made the second free throw and intentionally missed the last attempt in a desperate bid for an offensive rebound. The ball ended up in EAC’s hands, securing the victory.
JP Maguliano stepped up in his matchup against the reigning NCAA MVP, Will Gozum, contributing 17 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and a steal, while Ralph Robin was on fire from behind the arc, scoring 16 points off four three-pointers.
Nat Cosejo nearly recorded a double-double of his own with 12 points and eight rebounds, while King Gurtiza had an all-around game with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks.
EAC’s rookie point guard, Ochavo, also played a significant role in the victory with his near triple-double of nine points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Six of Ochavo’s points came in the fourth quarter, helping the Generals take the lead from Benilde.
Cabiltes later praised Ochavo for his overall performance, despite the last-second slip-up, explaining that such mistakes are necessary for rookies like Ochavo to learn and improve.
“He’s a very good player, but all rookies need to learn. Siyempre from the past games he’s committed mistakes, kailangan ineemphasize yon sa kanya in order for him to grow. There’s no room for growth if you don’t commit mistakes, katulad ng foul niya sa last second mali iyon. Ang instruction sa halfcourt pa lang foul ka na, pero lumagpas na ng halfcourt saka siya nagfoul. Definitely as a rookie kailangan matutunan niya iyon,” Cabiltes explained.
With this victory, the Generals improved to a 5-3 record and secured the fifth spot in the standings as they approached the end of the first round. Their next matchup is against San Beda University on Sunday at 12:20 p.m.
Nayve had a career-high 23 points along with eight rebounds and three assists, while Corteza added 15 points and six rebounds before his injury. Gozum contributed 14 points for the Blazers but was limited to only two points in the second half.
The Blazers dropped to a 4-4 record, placing them sixth in the standings. They are scheduled for a finals rematch against Colegio de San Juan de Letran on Sunday at 2:40 p.m to officially conclude the opening round of Season 99.
The Scores:
EAC 78 – Maguliano 17, Robin 16, Cosejo 12, Gurtiza 10, Ochavo 9, Tolentino 4, Ednilag 4, Angeles 3, Bacud 2, Quinal 1, Loristo 0, Cosa 0, Umpad 0, Luciano 0
CSB 76 – Nayve 23, Corteza 15, Gozum 14, Sangco 8, Arciaga 6, Carlos 3, Oczon 3, Marasigan 2, Cajucom 1, Marcos 1, Turco 0, Jalalon 0, Jarque 0
Quarterscores: 19-18, 35-39, 53-57, 78-76
