JRU stuns Mapua from 18 points down behind Teodoro’s heroics

Tey Teodoro. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Tey Teodoro came alive late as Jose Rizal University pulled off a nail-biting 90-87 come-from-behind win Tuesday in the NCAA Season 91 men’s basketball tournament.

Teodoro caught fire in the fourth, scoring 18 to finish with a career-high 32 points on a 4-of-9 shooting from threes, to help the Heavy Bombers fight back from an 18-point deficit with just three minutes to play.

With the Heavy Bombers slowly inching after Paolo Pontejos drained a three to cut the lead to 87-84 with 11.7 seconds remaining, Teodoro stole the ball from the inbound pass and drew an and-one play off a foul by Andretti Stevens. He missed the freebie, but the ball sailed out of bounds with Allwell Oraeme having the last touch.

Teodoro then nailed the go-ahead lay-up with 3.3 ticks to play before Dave Sanchez iced the game from the free throw line, capping a 24-3 run by JRU.

Justin Serrano still had the chance to force overtime for Mapua, but his hail mary from three-fourths the length of the court bounced in the front of the rim, sending the JRU fans in celebration.

“I don’t want to get to the situation where we’re playing from behind. It’s hard to play catchup basketball, but sometimes, it’s not about the coaching. It’s about the players, their instinct when it comes to emergency, they do it on their own,” said coach Vergel Meneses.

JRU trailed behind 84-66 after Darell Menina dropped a three with three minutes to play.

Jordan Dela Paz finished with 20 points for JRU (5-3), while Pontejos added 16 markers.

It was a meltdown for Mapua (4-4) as Oraeme’s 25 points, 19 rebounds, and three blocks went to waste.

Stephen Que also had 19 markers in the defeat as the Cardinals saw their three-game winning run snapped.

The Cardinals played without Josan Nimes, who is nursing a back spasm, and CJ Isit, who is out for three weeks due to a dislocated elbow. CFC

The Scores:

JRU 90 – Teodoro 32, Dela Paz 20, Pontejos 16, Cruz 8, Dela Virgen 5, Abdulwahab 4, Poutouochi 3, Sanchez 2, Lasquety 0, Aurin 0, Balagtas 0, Grospe 0, David 0.
MAPUA 87 – Oraeme 25, Que 19, Biteng 14, Menina 8, Stevens 6, Aguirre 5, Brana 4, Raflores 4, Serrano 2, Villasenor 0, Nieles 0.

Quarters: 20-21, 38-34, 53-64, 90-87.