Graduating player Mart Barrera shone brightly for a career-high 22 points to guide Jose Rizal University to a hard-earned fourth win against Colegio de San Juan de Letran, 90-86, in NCAA Season 100 on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
The Heavy Bombers snapped a four-game losing skid to improve 4-9 in the standings and keep themselves in contention for a Final Four spot.
Apart from Barrera, Joshua Guiab was an equally steady presence for the Heavy Bombers as he showed steely nerves on the line during the final moments to come up with 10 free throws en route to a 19-point outing that went with four rebounds and three assists.
Wayne De Leon also provided relief for the offensive front with 10 points on tip of seven rebounds.
“‘Yung role ng bawat isa, if you noticed, and laki ng binago ng rotation. Even ‘yung mga veterans ko. Ito na ‘yung challenge ko sa kanila. Binigay ko na sa kanila ‘yung flow and good thing na nag-deliver sila,” said JRU head coach Louie Gonzales.
JRU found itself trailing, 48-40, its biggest gap from Letran, before Shawn Argente, who finished with nine points, went on a five-point swing to cut it down to just three to greet the break.
In the third quarter, Barrera locked the game at 58-all as he went on to knock one from long distance to give the Heavy Bombers some 63-61 cushion.
With both sides hot and heavy from the nip-and-tuck affair, the Knights went on an 8-0 blitz in the payoff period with back-to-back triples for a brief 70-73 advantage still with 6:56 left to play.
Just when Letran thought it pulled away from sniffing distance, Barrera initially put up his career-high showing off a floater at the 6:02 mark, 72-73.
Despite Jimboy Estrada’s last-gasp efforts with his own back-to-back floater shots to keep the win in sight for Letran, JRU held on until endgame.
Meanwhile, Letran, who was coming off a win against San Sebastian, was dealt an even seven wins against seven losses.
Estrada was the top scoring option in the loss with an all-around game-high 29 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Rookie Jace MIller and Vince Cuajao added 16 and 13 points, respectively, in the losing cause.
Scores:
JRU (90) - Barrera 22, Guiab 19, De Leon 10, Argente 9, Bernardo 7, Ramos 7, Sarmiento 7, Raymundo 6, Pangilinan 3.
Letran (86) - Estrada 29, Miller 16, Cuajao 13, Go 9, Jumao-os 7, Montecillo 6, Nunag 3, Santos 2, Javillonar 1.
Quarters: 28-22, 17-26, 18-13, 27-25.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
