The Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers staved off a plethora of unforced errors and Ryan Costelo’s hot-shooting, and eluded a San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stag upset, 68-62, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Tey Teodoro bounced back from a season-low performance against the Letran Knights, leading the Heavy Bombers once again with 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting. He knocked down three triples in the process.
“Hindi ko alam bakit nag-struggle teammates ko,” Teodoro said about his team’s struggles.
After punching in just nine points in the opening frame, the Heavy Bombers leaned on Teodoro to lift them back into the game. The Shaw Boulevard squad eventually gained their first lead of the game early in the third quarter after a basket by Ervin Grospe, making it 34-33 with 8:05 remaining.
The two teams then exchanged triples, six in total, with San Sebastian knocking down four, for a 47-40 San Sebastian lead with 3:16 left in the third quarter. JRU ended the quarter strongly, with a 10-0 rally to regain the lead entering the final frame.
“We cannot figure it out,” said JRU head coach Vergel Menses. “Hindi namin alam, like for example sa mga coaches, kung ano ang pagkukulang namin. and i think nagagawa namin lahat.”
“Maybe siguro, baka pine-pressure nila yung sarili nila. At the same time siguro, baka lack of effort and big heart.”
Ryan Costelo single-handedly scored the first 12 points of the Stags in the final frame, allowing San Sebastian to gain a 59-58 lead with two minutes remaining in the game. However, Abdoul Poutouchi was fouled by Justine Mercado afterwards, sending the Cameroonian student-athlete to the line.
With JRU holding just a solitary point lead, San Sebastian could not find anyone willing enough to throw up a shot, resulting in a 24 second violation. Grospe then found Teodoro for a go-ahead triple with 1:12 remaining to extend the lead to four, 63-59.
After another two free throws by Poutouchi – his ninth point in the quarter — he all of a sudden threw the ball away for a turnover.
“Pero hindi yun ang hinihingi ko sa kanya,” Meneses said about Poutouchi. “Yung four losses namin, we struggled doon sa dalawang foreign players namin. Sasabihin ko na: we struggled on them.”
Regile Ilagan made a quick three afterwards to give the Stags a chance for a hijack. However, free throws by Gio Lasquety and a miss by Ilagan spelled the doom for the Golden Stags.
“Okay na rin yung number 6 instead na number 9 ka or 10 di ba,” Meneses expressed. “I hope we make a run.”
MJ Dela Virgen complemented Teodoro’s efforts with 12 points, nine from downtown. Grospe added 10 markers.
For the Stags, Costelo was the high-point man with 18 points and seven rebounds. Allyn Bulanadi added 15 points, none in the final frame.
As a team, they shot a horrid 29.85 percent from the field, compared to 41 percent by the Heavy Bombers.
The JRU Heavy Bombers (3-4) will next face the Arellano Chiefs (5-2) on Friday, August 5 at 4:00pm. On the other hand, the San Sebastian Golden Stags (1-7) look to snap out of their losing streak against the San Beda Red Lions (7-0) on the same day at 2:00pm.
The Scores:
JRU (68) – Teodoro 18, Dela Virgen 12, Grospe 10, Poutouochi 9, Pontejos 6, Lasquety 4, Abdul Wahab 4, Dela Paz 2, Cruz 2, Dada 1, Evardo 0, Astilla 0.
SSC-R (62) – Costelo 18, Bulanadi 15, David 8, Calisaan 6, Mercado 4, Ilagan 4, Johnson 3, Sera Josef 2, Capobres 2, Baetiong 0, Quipse 0,Valdez 0, Fabian 0
Quarterscores: 9-18, 27-33, 50-47, 68-62
