Jose Rizal University held off a rampaging Far Eastern University, 57-55, to start their campaign in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup on a positive note on Saturday evening at Arena in San Juan City.
It was almost a cruise for the Heavy Bombers at the start of the fourth when they led 50-36 and firmly in control.
Their lead, however, easily crumbled after Raymar Jose sparked a 19-6 charge that cut the Heavy Bomber lead to just a single point, 56-55.
Abdel Poutouochi had the chance to extend the JRU lead at the free throw line with 17.5 seconds remaining in the fourth but he missed both shots.
Atchie Iñigo had the glorious chance of giving the Tamaraws the lead but his wide-open layup bounced off the rim and out-of-bounds with 3.1 seconds remaining.
Paolo Pontejos led JRU with 19 points while Chris de la Paz had 11 points and six boards.
Jose was the high-point man for FEU with 18 points to go along with 13 rebounds while Mike Tolomia added 15. RC