INQUIRER Sports

GAMES MONDAY (FilOil Flying V Arena, San Juan)
10 a.m.—St. Benilde vs San Beda (Jrs)
11:45 a.m.—Mapua vs Letran (Jrs)
2 p.m.—St. Benilde vs San Beda (Srs)
4 p.m.—Mapua vs Letran (Srs)

JOHN WILSON SPEARHEADED A SIZzling offensive as Jose Rizal University overpowered Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-69, to claim a share of the lead in the 85th NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

“He saved us this game,” said coach Ariel Vanguardia of Wilson, who finished with 22 points as the Heavy Bombers tied the San Sebastian Stags on top with a 3-0 record.

The Bombers decided the game after the third quarter when they took a 64-44 lead but Vanguardia later rued the fact that EAC outscored his boys in the fourth period.

Mapua earlier broke out of the gates hard and sustained its hot shooting until the final buzzer in a 101-63 blowout win over the Angeles University Foundation Great Danes.

The easy victory was a welcome change for the Cardinals, who jacked up their record to 1-2 and gained a share of fifth along with Letran and AUF.

“We executed very well today,” said Mapua coach Chito Victolero, whose squad was coming off a blowout loss to San Beda and a narrow defeat to St. Benilde. “The beauty of the offense is that everyone has equal opportunities to score and I’m glad that everyone stepped up today.”

Wilson did most of the damage in the first and third periods, where he scored 17 of his total output. The fourth-year forward also grabbed 10 rebounds, notched three steals and had no turnovers in a 29-minute stint.

After the Generals tied the game at 32 on Russel Yaya’s triple late in the second period, the Bombers tightened their defense and went to Wilson and Marvin Hayes, who combined for 15 in a 23-5 blast in the third period.

Power forward Mark Acosta came off the bench to scatter 21 points, built on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, in just 23 minutes, while unheralded forward Erwin Cornejo contributed 13 points for the Cardinals, who held the Great Danes to just four field goals in the first half and 14 for the entire game.

It was a double celebration for Mapua as the Robins also posted their first victory in two seasons at the expense of AUF, 106-57. The Light Bombers improved to 2-1 as Joshua Saret and Louie Vigil combined for 96 points in a 135-58 ambush of the EAC Brigadiers.

The varsity scores:

Third Game (Srs)
MAPUA 101—Acosta 21, Cornejo 13, Pascual 12, Magat 9, Guillermo 9, Mangahas 7, Cinco 6, Raneses 5, Stevens 5, Equipolog 4, Sarangay 4, Parala 3, Soriano 2, Maniego 1, Espinosa 0.

AUF 63—Nacu 10, Gigante 8, Fuertez 8, Manarang 7, Carney 6, Maniago 6, Henson 4, Musni 4, Gomez 4, Dumlao 3, Cayanan 2, Perez 1, Sazon 0, Calma 0.
Quarters: 31-11, 47-23, 70-42, 101-63

Fourth Game (Srs)
JRU 83—Wilson 22, Cagoco 14, Bulangis 12, Hayes 11, Sena 10, Njei 8, Apinan 2, Agas 2, Montemayor 2, Matute 0, Kabigting 0, Salazar 0.

EAC 69—R. Yaya 19, Mendoza 16, L. Yaya 13, Santos 8, Cubo 7, Jabaybay 2, Diolanto 2, del Rosario 2, Chiong 0, Sablan 0.
Quarters: 21-17, 37-33, 64-44, 83-69