There is no meltdown this time around as Jose Rizal University made sure to be on the winning end, pulling away late against San Sebastian College-Recoletos, 90-74, for its first NCAA Season 100 win on Wednesday.
The Heavy Bombers, who lost a huge lead before bowing to LPU in their last game, held on until the final buzzer this time as they improved to 1-3 behind an all-around outing of rookie MJ Raymundo.
The 21-year-old Raymundo erupted for a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds alongside three blocks, two assists, and one steal to carry the fight for the embattled Heavy Bombers, who dropped narrow losses to Perpetual, Letran, and the Pirates before this victory.
The Stags, on the other hand, failed to complete another comeback as they fell to a 2-2 slate.
"More importantly is for us to learn to finish strong and it's good that we were able to be composed doon sa endgame. But more importantly, a lot of my players showed up today," JRU head coach Louie Gonzales said.
"Ako, naniniwala ako sa capability ng team na 'to eh and the good thing is for today's game, talagang nag-deliver sila."
The Heavy Bombers found themselves in a 40-all stalemate at the half, but they got their bearings in the second half to deny the Stags any momentum for a comeback.
Raymundo dropped nine of his overall output in the third period but they still couldn't still pull away for good, holding a 65-69 lead heading to the payoff period.
Raymundo then converted a jumper for a 78-66 lead before a pair of freebies from him sent JRU to its biggest lead at 87-68. He closed out his perfect shooting from the line with another two charities to seal the deal for JRU.
Mart Barrera and Jonathan Medina provided the support with 18 and 11 points apiece while Shawn Argente and Justin Lozano each scattered 10 markers as five Heavy Bombers reached double-digit scoring.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
