INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Emilio Aguinaldo College fought off a pesky Jose Rizal University side, 78-68, to keep its Final Four bid within reach Saturday in the NCAA Season 89 men’s basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Noube Happi and Jolas Paguia dominated the paint as each tallied a double-double for the Generals, who moved just half a game behind the San Sebastian Stags for the fourth and last semifinals slot.
“We are happy because ever since EAC joined NCAA, the most wins we had was just eight. So this one is a big achievement for us,” said coach Gerry Esplana, whose team improved to 9-8, its most number of wins in a season since joining the league in 2009.
Happi had 18 points and 15 rebounds while Paguia registered 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Generals held a double-digit advantage several times, including a 23-5 lead early, but during those instances the Heavy Bombers managed to come back and even take a 47-46 edge in the third quarter on a three-pointer by Philip Paniamogan.
“We were too cautious when we had the lead. I just told them to be aggressive,” added Esplana, who also said that his team still needs to be more consistent.
Guard Jan Jamon added 15 points for EAC, which took control of the boards, 47-26, and got 20 second chance points off of it.
JRU, which is already out of semifinals contention, got 19 points and 10 rebounds from skipper Michael Mabulac.