Photo by NCAA/Jan Dizon
MANILA, Philippines—Like a bomb, Jose Rizal University barged into the Final Four with a bang.
Erasing a one-on-one mentality which keyed in the squad’s doom more often than not, JRU defied the odds and booked a ticket to the semifinals as the fourth seed with a 9-9 mark.
“Nobody thought we would make it this far but we proved them wrong,” said sharpshooting swingman Nate Matute.
“Everyone wanted to be the hero, the game’s best player and that was our problem before. We had to make them realize that basketball is about teamwork,” JRU head coach Meneses told INQUIRER.net in Filipino.
Losing their key cogs due to graduation, the Heavy Bombers were slated to have a woeful NCAA Season 87 and at first, everyone seemed right.
Sensing urgency after an abysmal 3-9 record, the players came to their senses and turned things around with six straight wins.
“Six-game winning streak, we just had to never give up as a team. We wanted to come back from a losing skid,” said Matute.
“A lot we’re surprised. But we’re here now,” said Meneses. “We overachieved but as I’ve told them (my players) we managed to get into the Final Four so why not aim to go farther.”
But standing on JRU’s way is defending champion San Beda, which finally claimed the top spot after edging San Sebastian last Friday.
As formidable as the Red Lions are heading into the Final Four Monday, the Bombers seem to have their number after being one of the two teams able to put a crack on San Beda’s armor.
JRU stunned San Beda, 76-65, in the second round of eliminations behind the hot shooting of Matute.
And apart from Matute, Meneses cited his lanky forward Jeckster Apinan, who has been a revelation in the latter part of the season, as the team’s x-factor.
“Every time I field him (Apinan) in, good things usually happen,” said Meneses.
With Garvo Lanete leading the pack of Red Lions raring for a back-to-back, JRU will definitely have its hands full.
“What’s important is my players must follow our game plan and continue to play as a team. That’s how we got here anyway,” he said.
But then again, no one believed JRU could make it to the top four.
“We’re already here, we’ll see what happens,” said Meneses.