FAR EASTERN U and National U sustained their streaks yesterday to stay on top of their groups in the FilOil-Flying V Hanes Preseason Premiere Cup.
The Tamaraws leaned on another strong performance from sophomore Terrence Romeo to repulse Emilio Aguinaldo College, 67-51, while the Bulldogs found another hero in Glenn Khobuntin in a 77-70 win over a hard-fighting Lyceum squad.
Jose Rizal U survived a shootout with St. Benilde, winning 101-96 in overtime, behind 20 points from guard Alex Almario.
With Bobby Ray Parks opting to facilitate the offense, the 6-foot-2 Khobuntin, sidelined by sore eyes two weeks ago, took over the scoring chores, finishing with 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
The 6-foot-3 Parks finished with only nine points, eight below his average in the first three games, but dished out eight assists.
“We had a hard time because Lyceum was playing a small lineup,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.
“We were a little passive on defense in the first half, but Khobuntin gave us the inside game we needed in the second half.”
The Bulldogs now occupies the solo lead in Group A after improving to 4-0.
Pipo Noundou continued his solid showing for FEU with 11 points and 10 rebounds, stepping up in the absence of big man Aldrech Ramos, who sprained his ankle in a win over Mapua.
“We want this team to have a killer instinct heading into the UAAP,” said FEU coach Bert Flores. With reports from Carmela Dayaunon, Reed Jabagat, Janardan Duran
The scores:
First Game
FEU 67—Romeo 14, Noundou 11, Cawaling 10, Cruz 8, Garcia 6, Tolomia 5, Knuttel 4, Mendoza 4, Escoto 3, Foronda 2, Sentcheu 0, Excaminiano 0, Guerrero 0.
EAC 51—Cubo 18, Chiong 9, Jamon 7, Happi 5, Tayontong 4, Villegas 2, Diolanto 2, Manuel 2, Yaya 1, Manga 1, Sanchez 0.
Quarters: 20-8, 34-18, 50-37, 67-51
Second Game
NU 77—Khobuntin 22, Villamor 10, Parks 9, Alolino 8, Neypes 7, Celiz 6, Labing-isa 5, Celda 4, Ignacio 2, Singh 2, Betayene 2, Eman 0, Javillonar 0, Terso 0.
LYCEUM 70—Guevarra 20, Ko 12, Santos 11, Cayabyab 9, Foronda 7, Lacap 6, Azores 4, Anacta 1, Laude 0, Pascual 0, Ambohot 0, Salazar 0.
Quarters: 18-17, 35-37, 56-52, 77-70