Bombers, Stags dispute crown

Jose Rizal University buried the painful memories of its Final Four experience last year as it dumped St. Benilde, 99-76, yesterday and gained the right to face San Sebastian in the best-of-three final of the 77th NCAA men’s basketball tournament last night at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

The Heavy Bombers built a 20-point lead at the half then padded this to 30 late in the third period before turning back a triple-laced comeback by the deposed champions in the final quarter to seal their second trip to the final since losing to Letran two years ago.

More importantly, the victory helped the Heavy Bombers erase the stigma of their Final Four loss to the Stags last year when they lost despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage. Jose Rizal was also given a twice-to-beat edge against St. Benilde but failed to cash in quickly on it when they lost last Thursday, 84-98.

Ernani Epondulan and Ariel Capus, who will be graduating this year like the rest of the JRU starters, had 11 points apiece in the second quarter and went on to finish the game with 35 and 17 points, respectively. Epondulan, the leading MVP contender, had four points in a 7-0 spurt that finally settled the issue, 85-66, with 2:58 left to play.

The Blazers, who won the title over the Stags last year, had just dropped a 28-10 bomb that helped them cut a 38-68 deficit to within, 66-78. Mark Magsumbol and John Anthony Coching hit a barrage of triples in that St. Benilde comeback with the former nailing five of them.

But it proved to be their last hurrah as the Heavy Bombers stood their ground. When the final buzzer sounded, the entire Jose Rizal bench exploded in cheers to the delight of their fans while the St. Benilde camp sulked in defeat, kissing their title-retention bid goodbye.

The Stags earlier made it to the championship by turning back a stubborn Mapua side, 48-44.

San Sebastian also enjoyed a twice-to-beat advantage in their matchup with the Cardinals, who stayed alive with a 65-58 victory, also last Thursday. It was the eighth time in nine years that the Stags reached the final.

The Stags, winners of five straight championships from 1993, lost to the Knights in the 1998 final and to St. Benilde last year. Their winning output over the Cardinals yesterday was the lowest this season since JRU’s 55-54 win over San Sebastian in the season-opener last July 7.