Emilio Aguinaldo College erased a 24-point deficit to overcome University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, 78-70, on Friday in their second round encounter in NCAA Season 100 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
With the win, the Generals improved to 5-5, while the ALTAs moved down to 4-6.
The ALTAs led by 24, 44-20, at the 2:17 mark of the second quarter before the first half closed in their favor, 46-32.
However, the Generals came out strong in the second half and limited the ALTAs to just 24 points in the next two quarters.
Perpetual was still leading, 66-58, at the 7:33 mark of the fourth period but three triples from EAC, two from King Gurtiza and one from Nico Quinal, gave the Generals a 67-66 lead.
Another triple from Kyle Ochavo further gave EAC a 70-67 lead, while Harvey Pagsanjan gave the Generals a 72-68 lead with 3:07 left. Shawn Orgo's freebies off a Pagsanjan foul gave a chance to Perpetual, but another triple from Gurtiza gave the Generals enough breathing room with two minutes remaining. Freebies from Quinal and Pagsanjan sealed the victory for EAC.
"It's about heart. We refused to give up. Even if we're down 24, we're playing very bad offensively and defensively. I put in our third stringers like sina [Brianne] Angeles, [James] Manacho they gave us a lift, a spark. That's very crucial for us," EAC head coach Jerson Cabiltes said.
Gurtiza led the Generals with 21 points, while Wilmar Oftana and Gelo Loristo had 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Orgo, meanwhile, led the ALTAs with 16 points, while Cedrick Abis and Christian Pagaran had 14 and 10 points, respectively.
EAC will play Mapua University next on Tuesday, while Perpetual will take on Colegio de San Juan de Letran on Sunday.
Scores:
EAC 78 – Gurtiza 21, Oftana 12, Loristo 10, Quinal 9, Pagsanjan 7, Ochavo 6, Umpad 4, Lucero 3, Bagay 3, Angeles 2, Manacho 1, Devara 0, Jacob 0, Bacud 0, Luciano 0.
Perpetual 70 – Orgo 16, Abis 14, Pagaran 10, Gojo Cruz 8, Montemayor 7, Nuñez 5, Gelsano 5, Boral 3, Manuel 2, Cauguiran 0.
Quarters: 16-21, 32-46, 53-58, 78-70.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
