EAC Generals’ Nat Cosejo during a game against College of St. Benilde in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament. NCAA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Riding high after starring in the NCAA All-Star game on Saturday, Nat Cosejo sustained his form and led Emilio Aguinaldo College to its breakthrough win on Sunday.
Cosejo dropped a career-high 24 points to go along with nine rebounds and came up clutch as the Generals scored a major upset win over No. 1 College of St. Benilde.
“The All-Star game really boosted my confidence because I because I was able to play with PBA legends,” Cosejo said in Filipino after the Generals’ 80-75 victory.
Cosejo tallied 16 points and seven boards in the All-Star game and was named MVP while teaming up with PBA greats Allan Caidic, Willie Miller and Marlou Aquino.
The former University of Santo Tomas player also said their breakthrough win could be a turning point for the Generals especially since they caught it at the expense of a juggernaut team like the Blazers.
“Maybe this is our turning point. This is what we’ve been waiting for. This win will also give us the confidence which is what we’ve been lacking that’s why we’ve been falling short in the end,” he said.
EAC coach Oliver Bunyi heaped praise at Cosejo, who just recently lost his mother.
“He’s really a hard worker. I think it’s only been less than two weeks since his mother passed. He did not practice for one week but knowing him, he came back better and took care of himself,” Bunyi said.
The Generals’ victory also came a day after four of their key cogs in King Gurtiza, Ralph Robin, Art Cosa and Joshua Tolentino were suspended after committing “team violations.”
Gurtiza and Robin were suspended for the remainder of the season while Cosa and Tolentino will also miss an undisclosed number of games.