Bombers nip Stags in opener

Ariel Capus canned in the marginal basket from the stripe as Jose Rizal University nipped last year’s Final Four tormentor San Sebastian College, 55-54, yesterday at the start of the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Capus came through with a couple of defensive gems in the dying seconds and capped his endgame heroics as he foiled attemps of Christian Coronel and Nuranjam Alfad in the last 16.7 seconds to secure the win for the Bombers.

The victory thus snapped the Bombers' three-game skid against the Stags, which included two semifinal losses that foiled their bid last year.

University of Perpetual Help of Rizal dominated a listless Mapua Institute of Technology side as it coasted to a 61-52 victory in the second game.

Lavish and colorful opening numbers performed by the cheerleaders representing all eight participating schools ushered in the 77th season of the country’s oldest collegiate basketball league which rallied behind its theme – Revitalizing the Heritage of Sports.

For a while, the Bombers appeared headed for a big collapse after seizing control in the first 30 minutes of play as they yielded the lead to the Stags, who took a 54-51 lead down the stretch.

But Nathaniel Gregorio buried a triple from the left side to tie the count heading into the last two minutes of the contest and after both teams flubbed their offensive thrusts, Coronel went to the free throw line after a foul by Capus, 25.1 seconds remaining.

However, Coronel failed to endure the pressure and muffed both charities, with Capus recovering the loose ball in a wild scramble and drawing a foul from SSC’s Paul Reguerra.

The Ana Freezers standout in the PBL likewise flubbed the front end of his charities but recovered his bearing to knock in the other.