Aaron Bordon. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Jose Rizal University gutted out a 68-59 victory over Mapua to finish the first round on a four-game tear Tuesday in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Aaron Bordon was the one to step up this time for the Heavy Bombers, unleashing a career-best 17 points and four rebounds, while Jed Mendoza got 12 markers, five boards, and two assists.
Ervin Grospe and MJ Dela Virgen also tallied 11 points and three rebounds each in the conquest.
Despite the win, coach Vergel Meneses still expressed dissatisfaction with how his wards played against the cellar-dwelling Cardinals.
“A win is a win, but the way we played, I’m not happy about it,” he said. “They thought they can easily win against Mapua, but Mapua gave them a hard time.”
JRU seemed like well on its way to an easy triumph after Ervin Grospe drilled a rare three-pointer to put his crew up, 64-45, midway in the payoff period.
However, turnovers doomed the Heavy Bombers as Mapua cut the deficit down to just seven, 66-59, in the final minute, but Abdulwahab Abdulrazak scored on a huge putback in the dying seconds nail the win.
“It’s a good thing that we converted after the three turnovers we had. But we’re not yet in the level of San Beda and Lyceum. I hope we can bring this winning run to the second round, but we can’t play like we did in the first round,” said Meneses.
Abdulrazak also hauled down 21 rebounds to go with his five points in the game.
Christian Buñag led Mapua with 15 points and 21 rebounds, while Laurenz Victoria had 12 markers and five boards in the loss, which was the Cardinals’ seventh straight defeat to finish the first round on a 1-8 card.
The Scores:
JRU 68 – Bordon 17, Mendoza 12, Grospe 11, Dela Virgen 11, Teodoro 7, Abdulrazak 5, Poutouochi 3, Mate 2, Sawat 0, David 0.
MAPUA 59 – Buñag 15, Victoria 12, Gabo 8, Aguirre 8, Pelayo 6, Nieles 4, Raflores 4, Jimenez 2.
Quarters: 19-16, 38-34, 49-42, 68-59.