Cardinals’ furious rally stuns Knights
MANILA, Philippines—The Mapua Cardinals completed a comeback for the ages Wednesday, fighting back from 14 points down in the final three and a half minutes to squeak past the Letran Knights, 63-60, and arrest a two-game slide in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament. The Cardinals’ victory stole the limelight from Nate Matute, who continued his stellar shooting to power an error-prone Jose Rizal U squad to a 66-55 pummeling of Perpetual Help for the Heavy Bombers’ fourth straight victory. Held scoreless in the loss to Arellano, forward Mark Acosta bounced back resoundingly, burying the go-ahead triple with 15.4 seconds and icing the victory with two foul shots as the Cardinals notched their seventh win in 11 outings in front of a frenzied crowd at the FilOil-Flying V Arena in San Juan. “It’s a sweet win,” said Mapua coach Chito Victolero. “I’m proud of my players. They never gave up. I didn’t discuss the X and Os in the last two minutes. It was all about heart.” Five days after hitting a career-high 22 points, including 15 from beyond the arc, in the victory over Letran, the 6-foot-1 Matute fired 15 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting as the Bombers survived the upset-conscious Altas despite committing 30 turnovers. “He’s getting a feel of the game and he’s no longer hesitant to shoot,” JRU coach Vergel Meneses said of the reserve shooting guard from Las Vegas. The Bombers missed point guard JR Bulangis due to tonsillitis and Cameroonian veteran Nchotu Njei, who was benched by Meneses for disciplinary reasons. But Alex Almario stepped up, pouring 10 points, five rebounds and six assists and Raycon Kabigting also made his presence felt with 12 points, including eight in the third quarter, as the Bombers tightened their grip of third spot by improving 8-2. Aside from anchoring a resolute JRU defense that held Perpetual Help to just 28 percent shooting, Joe Etame, the 6-foot-7 Cameroonian recruit, finished with 11 rebounds and three blocks that went with seven points. The Cardinals looked doomed when the Knights grabbed a 58-44 lead with a lay-up by Kevin Alas with 3:36 remaining. Mapua still trailed, 50-59, heading into the final two minutes but two triples from Erwin Cornejo sandwiched by an Andretti Stevens lay-up wiped out the deficit and the Knights disintegrated in the face of the Cardinals’ furious charge. Perpetual Help stayed within striking distance of JRU despite the absence of leading scorer Arnold Danganan, who was suspended for two flagrant fouls in the Altas previous game. The Altas even briefly took the lead, 41-40, with three minutes remaining in the third period, before back-to-back triples by Kabigting and Matute and a basket by Etame allowed the Bombers to seize control, 48-41. Perpetual Help threatened for the last time at 52-54 on Ryan Jolangcob’s three-point play with 4:49 remaining, but Almario hit four free throws, Jeckster Apinan went 3-of-4 and Etame managed a split to push the lead to 10. Matute then responded with the last of his three triples in the fourth quarter with 34 seconds remaining after Jet Vidal had sliced the advantage, 55-62. Meneses rued his squad’s inability to protect the ball and said the Bombers cannot afford to play that way against the defending champion San Sebastian Stags next week. In juniors’ action, Perpetual Help turned back Jose Rizal, 86-69, to remain at second place with a 7-2 card behind San Beda, while Letran extended its streak to seven with an 86-74 triumph over Mapua. The senior scores
First Game
JRU 66—Matute 15, Kabigting 12, Almario 10, Montemayor 10, Etame 7, Apinan 7, J. Lopez 3, Hayes 2, Duncil 0, Badua 0, M. Lopez 0
PERPETUAL HELP 55—Vidal 14, Allen 14, Ynion 8, Arboleda 7, Alano 7, Jolangcob 3, Asuncion 2, Kintanar 0, Elopre 0
Quarters: 16-11, 27-28, 48-43, 66-55
Second Game
MAPUA 63—Cornejo 18, Acosta 11, Guillermo 11, Pascual 5, Sarangay 4, Mangahas 4, Ighalo 4, Banal 3, Stevens 3, Ranises 0, Maniego 0, Layug 0.
LETRAN 60—Ke. Alas 13, Dysam 10, Belencion 9, Kr. Alas 9, Taplah 8, Cortes 6, Espiritu 3, Almazan 2, Belorio 0.
Quarters: 13-20, 22-36, 37-48, 63-60
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