FilOil: JRU Heavy Bombers upset Green Archers in thriller

In the huddle, down four against the defending UAAP champion in front of a hostile crowd and a wave of momentum against them, Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers head coach Vergel Meneses kept his message simple. “Stay calm. Stay focused. We’re still in the game. Execute and be patient,” he said.
 

In the final minutes of the game, the Heavy Bombers found a way to execute enough offense to upset the De La Salle University Green Archers, 69-68, on Saturday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.

JRU was led by Phillip Paniamogan who scored 16 points on 4-of-10 shooting, including three three-pointers. Green Archer Jeron Teng stuffed the boxscore with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the losing effort.
 

Finding themselves down 18 at the half, the Green Archers slowly but surely clawed their way back into the game behind careful defensive adjustments. After hitting 56 percent of their three-pointers in the first half, the Bombers’ once potent offensive attack ground to a halt when faced against the Archer 3-2 zone defense. The Heavy Bombers managed just 25 second-half points.
 

After turning the ball over 15 times in the first quarter, the Green Archers began to find deliberate offense when the ball was put in Almond Vosotros’ hands. The veteran guard scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, mostly in the third quarter. The JRU lead was just nine going into the final period, 57-48.
 

The Heavy Bombers kept hemorrhaging points in the fourth and appeared fazed by the raucous De La Salle crowd, missing badly on jump shots and arguing calls with officials. La Salle finally took the lead when Jason Perkins converted on consecutive baskets at the 5:21 mark, 61-59. Arnold Van Opstal then hit a field goal at the 3:50 mark to send the crowd into frenzy and JRU into a crucial timeout.
 

Coming out of the quick break, the Heavy Bombers went to Cris Dela Paz, who bookended a missed free throw attempt by Van Opstal with two-point field goals, drawing them to within one. 66-65 with 2:15 remaining in the game.
 

The ensuing possession by La Salle resulted in an untimely 24 second violation when Perkins failed to launch his three-point attempt in time. Phillip Mabulac, who had shot just 1-of-5 up to the point, then gave the Heavy Bombers the lead, driving past Van Opstal for a reverse layup with 1:28 left in the game.
 

After La Salle came up empty on their possession, Jaycee Asuncion hit a midrange jumpshot to give the Heavy Bombers a three-point cushion. Perkins cleaned up a miss by Van Opstal to draw La Salle within one, 69-68, with 32.4 seconds left. The reigning UAAP champs were given a final chance to win the game when Teng forced a jump ball with 6.8 ticks left. But without any timeouts remaining, La Salle was forced to go the full length of the floor, and Perkins' driving layup danced on the rim before finally falling out, giving JRU their biggest win of the tournament.
 

JRU is assigned to play UE on Saturday, May 17 at 2:15pm. La Salle’s next game is scheduled on May 23 at 7pm, with the matchup to be played in Cebu.
 

“Down the stretch they [DLSU] were able to come back. But we executed and that’s a good sign for our team,” said Meneses. “They were composed down the stretch and that shows the character of this team.” - JDL, GMA News


The scores:

 

JRU 69 - Paniamogan 16, Teodoro 12, Lasquety 10, Asuncion 8, Dela Paz 8, Mabulac 6, Balagtas 5, Sanches 2, Abdulwahab 1, Benavides 1

DLSU 68 - Teng 17, Van Opstal 13, Vosotros 13, Perkins 8, N. Torres 6, T. Torres 4, Andrada 4, Sargent 3