Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Tey Teodoro caught fire in the fourth quarter as Jose Rizal University scored its first win with a 68-54 conquest of Perpetual Friday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The senior sniper piloted the Heavy Bombers’ huge run late as he uncorked eight of his 26 points in the payoff period before fouling out with 1:38 to play and JRU already up 66-52. He also had seven rebounds and three assists.
“Maybe it’s a good sign, that we got our team back. I challenged them to think about what we were in the preseason, where we’re passing the ball, looking for mismatches especially on defense. And that’s really the way to play,” said coach Vergel Meneses. “This is the real JRU team that I wanted to see, which is really fighting every game.”
Abdel Poutouochi chimed in 13 markers and seven boards, while Gio Lasquety fired 11 markers and four rebounds in the win.
Despite the victory, Meneses said that there’s still a lot to be desired with the way JRU is playing this early in the season as he put the spotlight on his big men.
“If Abdel and Abdul (Abdulrazak) really want to play, they have to be consistent. If you have a foreign player, you should be dominant. If they cannot play like this every game, we may not go far,” he said, dismayed that the Altas won the battle of the boards, 36-34.
GJ Ylagan paced Perpetual with 12 points and three rebounds, while Prince Eze registered a double-double with his 12 markers and 16 boards.
The Altas fell down the cellar at 0-2 after their season-opening victory over St. Benilde on Tuesday was forfeited due to the squad wearing the wrong uniforms.
The Scores:
JRU 68 – Teodoro 26, Poutuouchi 13, Lasquety 11, Grospe 8, Mendoza 4, Castor 4, Abdulrazak 2, Dela Virgen 0, David 0.
PERPETUAL 54 – Ylagan 12, Eze 12, Dagangon 9, Sadiwa 6, Pido 5, Coronel 3, Yuhico 3, Tamayo 3, Mangalino 1, Singontiko 0, Casas 0, Lucente 0, Clemente 0.
Quarters: 15-18, 39-30, 50-40, 68-54.