Being the last squad to debut this season, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals made sure that they will have a good first impression, scoring an impressive 74-64 win over the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Saint Benilde was on a high after being favored in a board room decision that gave them a win against the Perpetual Altas, last Tuesday. However, the Generals disclosed that they have scouted Saint Benilde well.
“Ilang beses ko pinanood yung Saint Benilde versus Perpetual. We had a good preparation against CSB, we prepared for them for the last two weeks,” said second-year EAC coach Ariel Sison.
Cameroonian student-athlete Hamadou Laminou led the Generals with an almost triple-double performance with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and seven blocks. Laminou had just recovered from a torn MCL on his left knee, an injury he incurred during the pre-season.
“I just came back last Monday. I did not practice for the last two months,” the 6-foot-10 big man said. “I’m not yet one hundred percent but I’m trying my best to get back in shape.”
Graduating utility forward Sidney Onwubere finished with a double-double as well with 11 points and 13 rebounds while batchmate Francis Munsayac had nine points and six assists.
“So thankful, everybody responded well,” Sison added.
EAC was dominant all throughout the contest, leading by double-digits for almost the entire game. The Generals’ lead would balloon to as high as 24 points, 61-37.
Saint Benilde could only slice the lead to as low as 10 points as both teams fielded in its third-stringers during the last minute of the game.
Even with the win, there are still a lot of things EAC has to work on as they committed 31 turnovers, Laminou and Onwubere committed seven errors each, while old unnecessary habits showed up for the Generals as Francis Munsayac and Onwubere were called for technical fouls.
No one scored in double-figures for Saint Benilde as they shot a nightmarish 25 percent from the field. Clement Leutcheu led the Blazers with nine points and eight rebounds.
EAC will next face the Letran Knights on Tuesday, July 18 at 12:00nn. Saint Benilde, on the other hand, takes on the mighty San Beda Red Lions on the same day at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
EAC (74) – Laminou 21, Onwubere 11, Munsayac 9, Garcia 6, Pascua 5, Mendoza 5, Neri 5, Guzman 4, Diego 4, Corilla 3, Tampoc 1, Bautista 0, Mendoza 0, Altiche 0.
CSB (64) – Leutcheu 9, San Juan 8, Belgica 8, Mercado 7, Johnson 6, Bunyi 6, Naboa 4, Young 4, Velasco 4, Sta. Maria 3, Castor 2, Dixon 2, Domingo 1, Pili 0.
Quarterscores: 25-13, 44-25, 61-37, 74-64
