INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines ? (UPDATE) Jose Rizal University got late baskets from John Wilson and John Njei to hold off San Sebastian, 57-53, Monday to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

The Heavy Bombers will play the Letran Knights this Wednesday in a virtual best-of-three series for the second finals berth.

The Knights won against the Mapua Cardinals, 62-52, in Monday?s second game.

"We struggled but we showed that we are capable of winning big games," said JRU coach Ariel Vanguardia. "San Sebastian is a tough team."

"We limited their three-point shooting and played aggressive defense," said Vanguardia.

The loss relegated the Stags to a battle for the last Final Four spot against the Cardinals.

The No. 4 team will face top seed San Beda in the semifinals with the Lions armed with a twice-to-beat edge.

As in their past two meetings which they lost, the Bombers zoomed ahead early, grabbing a 34-23 lead at halftime.

They had the Stags on the ropes with 6:22 left, after Jason Nocom hit a short jumper for a commanding 51-34 advantage.

There were flashes of the Bombers past two losses when they couldn't buy a basket in the next four minutes while the Stags scored 13 unanswered points on the fastbreak with swingman Jim Viray making eight and Froilan Saquillo drilling four of his game-high 16.

Viray also drew JRU main man James Sena's last foul with 3:55 left for a possible three-point play which he failed to convert.

"I was worried when Sena fouled out," said Vanguardia. "But we kept the faith."

Wilson's left-handed lay-up ended the drought with 2:37 left, before Njei rose above everyone else to follow up Wilson's miss with 29 seconds left to virtually seal the win, 55-49.

Riding the bench for most of the season, fifth-year guard Maui Pradas came up with nine impact points, including a buzzer-beating triple to give the Bombers a 43-33 cushion at the end of the third.

Pradas opened the fourth period with a fadeaway and suspended himself in mid-air for a reverse lay-up against 6-foot-7 Jason Ballesteros.

"Maui has been sacrificing his offense for defense," Vanguardia said. "I'm happy he hit those crucial baskets."

The Scores:

JRU 57 --- Sena 11, Nocom 10, Wilson 9, Pradas 9, Cagoco 5, Njei 5, Agas 4, Bulangis 2, Hayes 2, Kabigting 0.

San Sebastian 53 --- Saquillo 16, Viray 10, Ballesteros 7, Bringas 6, Raymundo 5, Aquino 3, Zulueta 2, Maconocido 2, Bulawan 2, Najorda 0, Semira 0, Delgado 0.

Quarters: 15-11, 34-23, 43-33, 57-55