UNIVERSITY of the East leaned on Mav Mesina’s clutch heroics, overcoming De La Salle-Zobel with a 79-70 win to remain unbeaten through eight games in the UAAP Season 87 Junior High School Basketball Tournament on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Meanwhile, Jhon Canapi’s late-game brilliance carried University of Santo Tomas to a narrow 76-75 victory, halting the four-game winning streak of Far Eastern University-Diliman earlier in the day.
Mesina delivered in the payoff period, sinking two consecutive triples that dashed the upset hopes of the Junior Archers.
The 5-foot-9 guard, who was part of UE’s squad last season, contributed an all-around stat line of 18 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals, propelling UE to its eighth straight win.
“This is a good win to start the second round. We expected this. For me, gustong-gusto ko yung mga ganitong situation because it’s another lesson for us,” said Junior Warriors head coach Andrew Estrella.
While the Red Warriors celebrated their eighth consecutive victory, it was Canapi who stole the show for the Tiger Cubs.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Trailing by five with 1:12 left after a late 10-2 run by the Baby Tamaraws led by Anton Lopez, Canapi seized the opportunity in the clutch.
Two free throws and a layup by Miguel Jubilado trimmed the Tiger Cubs’ deficit to 75-74 with 24.4 seconds remaining.
Off the inbound, Canapi, the two-time Junior MPBL MVP, stole the ball and quickly sank the go-ahead layup with 21.6 seconds left, completing UST’s comeback and dashing FEU-D’s 24-15 fourth-quarter run.
CP Miranda, son of FEU’s head of basketball operations Denok Miranda, missed two potential game-winning triples as UST avenged its 83-90 defeat to FEU-D to end the first round.
“Biglang naging buo yung loob noong last seconds. Dumepensa kami kasi marami kaming mintis sa free throw. Nag-react naman sila on defense, especially doon sa trapping namin,” said Tiger Cubs head coach Noli Mejos. “Sana ganito palagi yung maging mentality ng mga player ko kasi puro mga baby pa kasi ito ‘eh, especially yung mga big man ko. Ngayon naman, nag-react sila on defense, especially si Canapi.”
Canapi, despite shooting 5-of-18, ended up with 21 points, six rebounds, five steals, and one assist.
UE’s unbeaten run was in danger late in its game against DLSZ.
A layup by Jayden Centeno gave the Junior Archers a 71-69 advantage with 3:05 left, but UE quickly responded with a layup by Jolo Pascual and two clutch three-pointers from Mesina, securing a comfortable 77-69 cushion with 1:21 remaining.
“After the first round, sabi ko sa kanila na that the second round will be different. They will be in different situations. Ito yung bagong situation. Naging ready lang sila ‘eh. I kept on reminding them na mangyayari at mangyayari ito so we had to be composed,” Estrella added.
Pascual tallied 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a steal, while Neil Garcia had an efficient outing with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting, along with five rebounds, two steals, and an assist for UE.
Gab Delos Reyes was a point shy of a double-double with nine points, 15 rebounds, and a block, while team captain Enrico Bungar contributed seven points, four assists, four rebounds, and two steals.
For UST, Andwele Cabanero struggled with eight points on 22.2-percent shooting but managed eight rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Jubilado stepped up during the off-night of UST’s prized duo, tallying 20 points, three rebounds, and two steals while Roi Balague grabbed 13 rebounds and two steals.
The Baby Tamaraws remain in second place with a 6-2 record, while the Tiger Cubs rose to solo third with a 5-3 record.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Lopez paced FEU-D in the losing effort with 13 points and 14 rebounds, along with four assists and a steal, but committed a game-high eight turnovers.
Prince Carino was heavily checked by UST’s defense, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds, and three blocks.
Mark Dulin contributed a double-double of his own with 12 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, and three assists, while Duke Santos added 11 points.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Without lead guard Melvin Tailan, who averaged 19.71 points, 7.14 rebounds, 3.57 assists, and 1.86 steals after the first round, the Junior Archers fell to a 4-4 record, sharing fourth place with the NUNS Bullpups and the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Ram Luna scored 16 points, along with seven rebounds, six assists, and a steal; Jayden Centeno chipped in 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals; while co-captain Vince Magan added 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
However, the Luna-Centeno-Magan trio combined for just 17-of-53 shooting from the field.
The Scores:
First Game:
UST 76 – Canapi 21, Jubilado 20, Cabanero 8, Bathan 8, Castro 7, Balague 6, Lim 6, Guerrero 0, Yu 0, Guinto 0, Duenas 0
FEU-D 75 – Lopez 13, Carino 13, Dulin 12, Santos 11, Pasinos 10, Miranda 7, Diaz 6, Adriano 3, Lassiter 0, Enriquez 0
Quarterscores: 27-21, 42-37, 61-51, 76-75
Second Game:
UE 79 – Mesina 18, Pascual 17, Garcia 11, Delos Reyes 9, Bungar 7, Ferreros 6, Oraa 6, Panganiban 5, Okebata 0
DLSZ 70 – Luna 16, Centeno 16, Magan 13, Llamas 9, Villaruz 8, Tan 4, Apao 4, Purugganan 0, Maglipon 0
Quarterscores: 18-22, 31-34, 54-60, 79-70
