After being dormant in the last two wins of the Jose Rizal University, fourth-year guard Teytey Teodoro was unleashed, taking over for the Heavy Bombers while stunning the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags in their homecourt, 73-62, Thursday evening in Recto, Manila.
JRU are now riding a three-game winning streak to lift their record to 5-3.
Teodoro was limited to just four points in the first half but was uncorked in the final 20 minutes of the game, scoring 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting. And the gunslinger provided the buckets during the most crucial stretch of the game.
“If he wants to play, nobody can stop him,” remarked JRU head coach Vergel Meneses about Teodoro.
With five minutes left in the game and the score knotted at 58-all, Teodoro fired back-to-back triples that sucked the energy right out of San Sebastian Gym.
Joining the JRU take over was Abdulwahab Abdulrazak. After averaging just 3.7 points prior to the game, the big man went to work, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds. Ervin Grospe chipped in 10 markers.
San Sebastian did not go down without a fight, though. Down 52-42 entering the final frame, the Stags went on a huge rally behind Allyn Bulanadi and Jayson David. A bucket by the former knotted the game at 58-all.
David finished with a career-high 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting to go along with six rebounds, while Bulanadi had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. Floor general Renzo Navarro had 13 points as well.
However, without Michael Calisaan, the Golden Stags struggled to find the hole, shooting at a dismal 27.27 percent clip. They were also forced to shoot from outside — attempting 39 triples.
San Sebastian end their first round campaign with a 4-5 slate. JRU, on the other hand, take on the Mapua Cardinals on Tuesday, August 29.
The Scores:
JRU (73) – Teodoro 19, Abdulrazak 13, Grospe 10, Mendoza 9, Bordon 7, Poutouochi 5, Lasquety 4, Sawat 4, Dela Virgen 2, Mate 0, David 0, Mariano 0, Castor 0.
SSC-R (62) – David 18, Bulanadi 14, Navarro 13, Gayosa 6, Ilagan 3, Baytan 3, Baetiong 2, Capobres 2, Are 1, Calma 0, Mercado 0, Costelo 0, Valdez 0, Quipse 0.
Quarterscores: 12-17, 30-25, 52-42, 73-62.