Veejay Pre and Far Eastern University kept Ateneo de Manila University winless in the Filoil Ecooil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup, while also spoiling Jared Bahay’s debut in the league with a 65-46 demolition on Friday in San Juan.
Pre, the UAAP Season 86 Boys’ 3×3 Basketball Most Valuable Player, led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Mo Konateh notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
It was a bounce-back win for the Tamaraws, who fell to the UP Fighting Maroons yesterday, 95-86.
“Happy naman, pero siyempre hindi pa kuntento,” said FEU head of basketball operations Denok Miranda as they went up to 2-1 in the standings for solo third.
“Hindi maganda yung result kahapon pero ang dami naming natutunan against UP. Inapply namin lahat yun this game,” added the former head coach of the Tamaraws.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Tamaraws, who led by as much as 24 points in the contest.
Jedric Daa added 10 points, while Jorick Bautista and JR Pasaol chipped in eight markers apiece.
Ateneo, which remained winless in three outings, was led by 11 points each from Chris Koon and Shawn Tuano.
In his Filoil debut, Jared Bahay went 0-of-9 from the field.
Meanwhile, the College of St. Benilde stretched its streak to four after routing Arellano University, 72-58.
Matthew Oli took charge with 15 points and two assists, while Allen Liwag contributed 10 markers and six rebounds. The Blazers erased the Chiefs’ 3-0 start with 22 unanswered points and never looked back.
Red-hot Benilde, which has definitely moved forward from its loss in the opener, led by as much as 22.
They eventually claimed the top spot in the NCAA bracket of the tournament co-presented by Bostik El Heneral and ABC Tile Adhesive, with Smart Sports, Strong Group Athletics, and Hanes as major sponsors.
On the other hand, ascendant Arellano fell to a 3-3 standing despite EJ Geronimo and Mark Vinoya’s 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Sitting at solo second is Colegio de San Juan de Letran, which warded off San Sebastian College-Recoletos’ fourth-quarter fightback for an 81-79 decision.
Edzel Galoy shone brightly for the second straight game with 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while James Jumao-as fired 15 markers of his own in the Knights’ rampage to a fifth consecutive victory after a 0-2 start to the preseason showcase, also supported by Tela.com Athletics as official outfitter and Molten as the official game ball, as well as minor sponsors Reyes Barbecue, KFC, Brothers Burger, Wallem Philippines Shipping, Harbor Star Shipping Services, Akari, Jiang Nan Hotpot, and KantiGo Sports.
The Golden Stags gave them a good scare, however, as Tristan Felebrico’s triple trimmed their once-16-point advantage to just one, 79-80, with nine seconds to go.
Letran’s Justin Nunag was then sent to the stripe, where he made the first and missed the second. Then teammate Jonathan Manalili secured the offensive rebound.
The prized rookie missed both free throws, but Nunag again claimed the board to finalize the Knights’ escape.
Mapua University and the University of Perpetual Help are tied for fifth – behind idle 4-2 EAC and San Beda – with similar 4-3 records following separate gritty wins.
The Cardinals powered through Jose Rizal University after a back-and-forth affair in overtime, 93-89, on the back of NCAA Season 99 MVP Clint Escamis’ 16 points.
Six other teammates in MC Cuenco (14), JC Recto (13), Yam Concepcion (12 points, 11 rebounds), Chris Hubilla (12), John Jabonete (11), and Lawrence Mangubat (10) joined him in double digits.
The Altas, for their part, came from behind to sink Lyceum of the Philippines University, 76-72.
Down by five after three quarters, Perpetual rallied around a scary injury to rookie Mark Gojo Cruz to put on a 27-18 final frame. JP Boral paced them with 17 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks.
John Barba’s 23-point, 7-rebound, and 5-assist effort for the Pirates went to waste as they fell to 1-4, the same slate as the Heavy Bombers, who leaned on Mart Barrera (19 points, five boards, three assists).
