After five tries, the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals scored a huge upset over the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags, picking up a thrilling 79-77 overtime win, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“I’m just so thankful,” said third-year Generals head coach Ariel Sison, as his team had lost their first four games by an average of 8.0 points per game.
And the Generals needed to gut it out to pick up that elusive win.
“Sabi ko lang sa kanila dapat yung execution puso na, hindi na galing, how you will handle the pressure,” Sison shared. “Nakuha nila yung gusto naming mangyari, na-stop namin ang baste at na-convert namin yung field goal, nakaka-isa kami.”
After rallying back from five down with 2:40 left in regulation to force extra time, the Generals again faced a four-point deficit, 77-73, with 2:43 remaining in overtime. But EAC were determined to win this one.
“If we didn’t win today, I will resign,” disclosed Sison, who is also a dean at EAC.
JP Maguliano was able to answer right back with a putback, followed by a Jethro Mendoza hook shot for the tying basket.
The former Adamson student finished with a career-high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go along with 17 rebounds.
A pushing foul off a rebound skirmish by Michael Calisaan led to free throws from Hamadou Laminou. The Cameroonian student-athlete split his charities to give EAC the lead. Jerome Garcia was able to double the lead with a split as well with 8.6 ticks left.
San Sebastian had multiple chances to either knot the game or even take the lead. However, their last attempt – a Ken Villapando triple – badly missed.
Laminou added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Jerome Garcia had 13 points even if he went 3-for-21 from the field.
San Sebastian had three Golden Stags finish with a double-double. Michael Calisaan had 23 points, while Allyn Bulanadi and Alvin Capobres had 14 and 13 points respectively. All three grabbed 10 rebounds each.
RK Ilagan did not play in the game, as he is serving a team-imposed suspension.
San Sebastian dropped to 2-4.
The Golden Stags will look to bounce back when they face the Mapua Cardinals on Tuesday, August 7. EAC looks to build a streak when they take on the Mapua Cardinals on Friday, August 10.
The Scores:
EAC 79 – Maguliano 30, Laminou 13, Garcia 13, Gonzales 7, Mendoza 4, Bugarin 4, Bautista 2, Cruz 2, Diego 2, Robin 2, Tampoc 0, Natividad 0
SSC-R 77 – Calisaan 23, Bulanadi 14, Capobres 13, Dela Cruz 8, Villapando 7, Calma 7, Sumoda 4, Valdez 1, Are 0, Baytan 0, Desoyo 0, Arciaga 0
Quarterscores: 12-19, 28-37, 48-55, 69-69, 79-77.
