Generals rally past Bombers, take No. 4

MANILA, Philippines — Emilio Aguinaldo College put on a strong finishing kick to defuse Jose Rizal U, 88-84, and bolster its semifinal bid in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan yesterday.

Jerome Garcia and Jeric Diego keyed the Generals’ fightback from 71-77 before Sydney Onwubere capped off their decisive 13-3 windup with two brilliant plays.

EAC thus grabbed solo fourth with a 6-6 record although the Heavy Bombers stayed at third at 7-5.

Diego scored underneath on an Onwubere assist to shove the Generals to an 81-80 lead with 1:24 left in the game before the latter drilled in a triple with 57.4 seconds to complete their thrilling come-from-behind win.

“I thank the Lord and my players for doing their very best,” said EAC coach Ariel Sison.

“We tried to double on their bigs early but the problem was they were able to hit their three-point shots,” Sison added.

Onwubere paced the Generals with 28 points and nine rebounds.

Garcia backed Onwubere with 16 points and three assists while Diego and Phillip Tampoc added 11 markers apiece.

Letran later joined EAC at fourth as it thwarted Arellano, 84-73, to snap a three-game skid.

JP Calvo hit triple off a broken play, giving the Knights a double-digit spread in the closing seconds.

The Chiefs, who closed in at 73-79 with less than a minute to go on an 8-0 attack, fell to eighth at 4-8.

Marwin Taywan was called for unsportsmanlike foul for holding on to Rey Nambatac on an inbounds play, haling the Chiefs’ momentum. The Letran ace split his free throws before Calvo drained in the insurance trey.

The scores:

First Game

EAC 88 – Onwubere 28, Garcia 16, Diego 11, Tampoc 11, Munsayac 9, Mendoza I 7, Bugarin 2, Guzman 2, Pascua 2, Corilla 0, Mendoza J 0, Neri 0

JRU 84 – Mendoza 22, Teodoro 18, Grospe 15, Bordon 12, Poutouochi 6, Abdul Razak 4, Dela Virgen 3, Lasquety 2, Sawat 2, David 0

Quarterscores: 24-22; 36-39; 57-61; 88-84

Second Game

Letran 84 – Quinto 20, Calvo 20, Nambatac 14, Balanza 8, Mandreza 8, Gedaria 4, Vacaro 4, Taladua 4, Balagasay 2, Bernabe 0

Arellano 73 – Salado 23, Alcoriza 10, Flores 7, Dela Cruz 7, Meca 6, Taywan 6, Canete 5, Concepcion 3, Abanes 3, Nichols 2, Villoria 1, Enriquez 0

Quarterscores: 26-20; 45-36; 68-59; 84-73