The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers handily defeated the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, 71-63, to keep pace with the Mapua Cardinals in the standings, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Cameroonian big man Abdoul Poutouochi continued his stellar second round play for the Heavy Bombers, tallying 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds in the game. Paolo Pontejos added 14 markers while knocking down two triples.
“One game at a time. We have to win four more. Nagawa namin yun last year papano pa this year,” said a hopeful JRU head coach Vergel Meneses. “As long as we remain disciplined and the desire to win is there.”
After leading by just five points entering the second half, the patented Heavy Bomber defense only allowed the Blazers to score a paltry three points in the first five minutes of the third frame.
On the other end, Teytey Teodoro scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter, including a booming triple that gave JRU their biggest lead of the game, 54-36.
The Blazers were never able to recover in the final frame even if JRU scored only nine points in the final ten minutes of the game.
However, things got heated between the two teams with eight seconds remaining as Gio Lasquety of JRU and Edward Dixon of CSB had a heated exchange after a rebounding scrum. Fortunately, the referees were able to break up the two immediately.
Pontejos, who struggled in JRU’s loss against the EAC Generals, was the trailblazer for JRU, dropping 11 points in the opening frame.
“He is a good player naman. Hindi siya nag baback to back bad games,” Meneses remarked about his senior. “Kelangan lang niya mag-focus every game, mas lalo na sa depensa. Kung ano nilalaro niya, yun ang ilalaro ng JRU.”
“Bawal na kami matalo. Sayang yung talo sa EAC,” Pontejos lamented. “Puwede siguro kami matalo sa malalakas pero ngayon umaasa pa kami matalo ang Mapua. One game at a time na talaga.”
For the Blazers, this season’s slam dunk king Yankie Haruna was the high-point man with 14 points and eight rebounds. Dixon added 13 markers.
The Heavy Bombers shot an outstanding 49 percent from the field compared to dismal 38 percent shooting for the Blazers.
The Heavy Bombers (5th, 8-6) look to make it 2-0 against the San Beda Red Lions (1st, 11-3) on Tuesday, September 6, at 2:00pm. On the other hand, the Benilde Blazers (10th, 0-14) look to end their futility on Thursday, September 8, at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
JRU (71) – Poutouochi 14, Pontejos 14, Teodoro 11, Grospe 8, Cruz 6, Abdul Wahab 5, Mendoza 4, Dela Virgen 4, Lasquety 2, Dela Paz 1, Astilla 1, Dada 1, Evardo 0.
CSB (63) – Haruna 14, Dixon 13, Domingo 10, Saavedra 8, Young 6, Castor 4, Fajarito 4, Sta. Maria 4, Pajarillaga 0, Pasamante 0.
Quarterscores: 21-16, 38-33, 62-46, 71-63
