Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ervin Grospe spearheaded a big first half and Jose Rizal University dumped Emilio Aguinaldo College, 77-48, in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Grospe scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the first two quarters, where the Heavy Bombers outscored the Generals, 37-21, and never looked back.
“We really prepared hard for this game because we’re coming off a loss,” said Grospe, who fell a point short of matching his career-high, in Filipino.
The Bombers, who bounced back from a 54-48 loss to the San Beda Red Lions on Aug. 4, never letup in the second half to extend their lead to as high as 35.
JRU got a lift from first-year forward Abdul Sawat, who finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
“Coach and my teammates just gave me confidence,” said the 19-year-old Sawat, who hails from Davao, in Filipino.
The Generals played without their injured Cameroonian import Hamadou Laminou, whom they severely missed.
EAC had to bleed for points, shooting just 23 percent from the field and 36 percent from the free throw line.
The 6-foot-8 Laminou suffered a season-ending ACL injury last week.
JRU climbed to 3-3 while EAC, which turned the ball over 22 times and only had nine assists, slid to 3-4.