Last July 13, 2018, Francis Munsayac was sobbing on the floor of the EAC Sports and Cultural Center, as the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals were handed a tough loss by the Lyceum Pirates. Though the protagonists are now different, 378 days later, the result was still the same.
Prince Eze and the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas ransacked the Generals, 76-74, Thursday evening.
“Ang feeling ko yung Generals played with a lot of confidence. Siyempre andito sila sa bahay nila, we just couldnt humiliate them here. Grabeng effort ang pinapakita nila,” said first-year Altas head coach Frankie Lim.
Edgar Charcos continued his impressive run, finishing with 22 points, three assists, and two steals in 33 minutes of action.
Prince Eze, on the other hand, was just a block shy of a triple-double with 15 points, 22 rebounds, and nine blocks.
“In the end, went down to making stops. We made a stop sa kanilang isolation, and ayun, nanalo,” he added.
Down 75-69 with 59.5 ticks remaining, Jeric Diego was able to score on a jumper off a timeout. In the next possession, AJ Coronel made a sloppy pass during an inbound that led to a Maui Cruz triple with 14.2 seconds left.
Kim Aurin split his charities on the other end. But with no timeouts left, Jerome Garcia was forced to take matters into his own hands. Aurin stuck to him like glue, forcing Garcia to a well-contested triple that badly missed as time expired.
Kim Aurin almost notched a triple-double as well with 12 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Cruz paced the Generals, who are now 0-2 on their home floor, with 18 points. Laminou was limited to just 12 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
This is Perpetual’s second straight win, lifting their record to 2-1. EAC fell to 0-3.
Perpetual will next face the Lyceum Pirates on Friday, August 3, while EAC looks to bounce back against the San Beda Red Lions on Tuesday, July 31. Both games will be played at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
The Scores:
UPHSD 76 – Charcos 22, Eze 15, Aurin 12, Peralta 11, Coronel 6, Razon 5, Cuevas 2, Pedrosa 2, Mangalino 1, Tamayo 0
EAC 74 – Cruz 18, Garcia 17, Laminou 12, Natividad 10, Bautista 5, Diego 4, Mendoza 3, Gonzales 2, Robin 2, Tampoc 1, Magullano 0, Neri 0, Bugarin 0, Fuentes 0
Quarterscores: 20-17, 38-34, 56-57, 76-74
