Paolo Pontejos’ cold spell had been plaguing the Heavy Bombers all season long. Tuesday afternoon, the curse might have finally been broken.
And it could not have come at a better time.
The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers locked down the once-invulnerable San Beda Red Lions late, scoring a 79-73 upset win, on a rainy Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Pontejos was the high point man for the Heavy Bombers with 27 huge points – including five triples, grabbed three rebounds, and dished four assists.
“Sa akin ang nakita ko siguro yung desire,” JRU head coach Vergel Meneses said, trying to hide his satisfaction after finally beating San Beda. “The past games yung walang desire, especially when we played Arellano.”
“The desire was not there, the energy was not there. Parang they just came here to finish the game, not to win the game.”
At one point during the third frame, the Red Lions led by as much as 16 points largely in part to the hot-shooting of AC Soberano and the power of Donald Tankoua.
Tankoua continued the San Beda surge early in the fourth quarter, scoring five straight point to give the Red Lions a 71-59 lead with 6:23 left in the game.
“Ang lagi ko sinasabi sa kanila, good defense leads to good offense,” Meneses shared.
Suddenly, Abdoul Poutouochi became the rock for the JRU defense while Pontejos and Tey Teodoro were impenetrable on defense. The former was able to stand his ground against Tankoua while the backcourt duo shackled their larger counterparts Robert Bolick and Davon Potts.
On the other end, Pontejos was back to his old antics, including his deadly pull-up jumpers in a 12-2 run that cut the deficit to just two points, 71-73, with 3:29 left.
After successfully making stops but failing to convert on the other end for the next two minutes, JRU’s breakthrough moment finally happened with 1:48 left in the game. A costly turnover by Bolick led to a Pontejos find to a wide-open corner three by Teodoro to gain a 74-73 lead.
“Well basically sabi ko nga sa kanila, they will not allow you to set plays, they live and die with their press,” Meneses reflected. “We just kept on attacking, that’s it. Just keep on attacking. The discipline was there, giving extra passes. Yun siguro ang naging key.”
San Beda, with panic sinking in, went trigger happy from deep but missed all three of their attempts. On the other end, a floater by Pontejos and free throws by Teodoro and Ervin Grospe sealed the deal for the Heavy Bombers.
Poutouochi notched a double-double with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting and 12 rebounds. Teodoro added 14 points as well, including the most important three points of the game.
“Siyempre we’ll bring this one pagdating ng second round di ba,” Meneses closed. “Instead of coming from a loss, or galing sa tambak. I hope na every game will be like this.”
For the Red Lions, Tankoua had 28 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks. However as a team, the Red Lions were limited to just 37.84 percent shooting. Moreover, they forced to commit 20 turnovers.
The Heavy Bombers will finish the first round with a 4-5 slate and more importantly, with the win, are back into the Final Four race. The Red Lions, even with the loss, still holds pole position at 8-1.
The Scores:
JRU (79) – Pontejos 27, Poutouochi 14, Teodoro 14, Grospe 9, Dela Virgen 5, Lasquety 4, Cruz 4, Abdul Wahab 2, Dela Paz 0, Mendoza 0
SBC (73) – Tankoua 28, Potts 11, Soberano 7, Bolick 6, Mocon 6, Noah 6, Oftana 4, Tongco 2, Sara 2, Presbitero 1, Alas 0, Bonsubre 0, Navarro 0
Quarterscores: 14-22, 35-37, 53-66, 79-73
