San Beda University bounced back as it escaped Jose Rizal University, 74-70, on Saturday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Jacob Cortez posted a new career-high, producing 24 points while also grabbing five rebounds, dishing out two assists, and four steals. Peter Alfaro and Jomel Puno followed suit with 12 and nine markers, respectively, with the latter also having 12 rebounds.
Playing catch up most of the game, the Red Lions leaned on the steady hands of Cortez to seal the contest in their favor.
Down by a point with less than a minute left in the final canto, Cortez drove to the paint and converted over the outstretched arms of JRU’s Shawn Argente to gain the lead, 71-70.
Needing a stop at the other end, San Beda relied on the towering presence of Puno and Alex Visser to grab an all-important rebound which forced the Heavy Bombers to send them to the line.
Despite splitting his trip from the charity stripe, Puno got his own miss and gave it to Cortez for another chance of shutting out JRU. The six-foot guard swished in both free throws to ultimately close out the game, 74-70.
Stepping in the place of the suspended Escueta was first assistant Andre Santos, who said that he was over the moon that they got the win against a tough JRU team.
“Siguro, emotional lang ako because it has been a tough week. Siyempre, we’re in unfamiliar territory with coach Yuri not around. Bihira kami to practice without him, so to have a full week without him, to play a tough JRU team without him, the emotions really raised. But I am really grateful that we got that win because we needed that win so badly,” said Santos.
(I was emotional because it has been a tough week. We're in unfamiliar territory with Coach Yuri not around. We seldom practiced without him, so to have a full week without him, to play a tough JRU team without him, the emotions really raised. But I am really grateful that we got that win because we needed that win so badly.)
With the victory, the Red Lions improved their NCAA Season 99 win-loss card to 4-2, while the Heavy Bombers had their third loss of the tournament, dropping to 4-3.
The Mendiola-based squad aims to build on this win when they face the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA on Tuesday, October 17. Meanwhile, the Heavy Bombers play their penultimate game of the first round against Lyceum of the Philippines University on the same date.
Scores:
San Beda 74 - Cortez 24, Alfaro 12, Puno 9, Andrada 9, Payosing 8, Cuntapay 7, Visser 4, Gonzales 1, Gallego 0, Jopia 0, Llanera 0, Tagle 0.
JRU 70 - Argente 14, Dionisio 13, Delos Santos 12, Miranda 11, Guiab 10, Pabico 6, Mosqueda 2, Sarmiento 2, Arenal 0, De Leon 0, Medina 0, Ramos 0, Sy 0.
Quarterscores: 15-23, 34-38, 51-54, 74-70.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
