As long as their chances would allow it, Emilio Aguinaldo College is hanging tough in the Final Four race of NCAA Season 100.
Following their lopsided 89-59 defeat against defending champion San Beda University earlier this week, EAC wanted to redeem itself and vent ire to the next opposition standing in its way.
Unfortunately for Arellano University, the squad had to bear the brunt of the revenge-seeking EAC side in their 69-59 nip-and-tuck affair on Sunday.
The victory propelled the Generals to the fourth spot of the standings as they fell into a tie with the Lyceum of the Philippines University to make for an interesting matchup next week on Tuesday.
“It’s a vital win. We really needed this badly. After an embarrassing loss against San Beda, we practiced right after that game. So, nag-focus kami talaga kung ano ‘yung nagawa naming mali in our game against them,” said EAC head coach Jerson Cabiltes.
“It’s gonna be the biggest [game] of the season for us. Kasi it all boils down to this [game] if ever we want to enter the Final Four. We need to defeat LPU, we cannot rely on them na matalo sila sa game nila. For us to win, need to do it on our own and take care of the job. Kalaban naman sila sa Tuesday so paghahandaan namin,” he added.
Likewise, graduating guard Harvey Pagsanjan was left with a bitter taste in his mouth following their sorry loss against the Red Lions, which all the more motivated him to pick up the slack with a stellar performance.
“Nung sa San Beda kasi tinalo namin sila nung first round eh. Medyo mas exciting kaya siguro nung game namin medyo gigil kami. Nawala 'yung teamwork namin. So, in comparison, ngayon ang ganda ng pasahan at lahat tumatakbo. Naibalik namin y'ung transition offense namin,” Pagsanjan said, who carried out a game-high 17 points that went with 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in the victory.
Should Pagsanjan and the Generals ride on their timely momentum all the way through, their historic Final Four appearance might just be in sight.
“Siyempre hangga’t di kami nalalaglag at natatalo, mindset namin ‘yung kaya namin pumasok sa Final Four. Bago magsimula ‘yung season goal na namin talaga ‘yun at gumawa ng history sa EAC bago ako grumaduate,” he said.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
