JOSE RIZAL University (JRU) played intelligent defense when it mattered most to clamp down Mapua, 62-58, last Tuesday to advance to the Final Four of the 93rd National Collegiate Athletic Association seniors basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The Heavy Bombers held on to a two-point lead in the final four and half minutes but held the Cardinals to just two points the rest of the way to secure their 11th triumph against six setbacks and book a return trip to the Final Four after getting ousted last season.
JRU joined Lyceum of the Philippines University (16-0) and San Beda (15-1) in the semifinals.
Teytey Teodoro rediscovered his scoring groove and poured in a game-best 19 points while Jed Mendoza scattered 10 points.
Defense, however, was key to JRU’s victory.
“We made stops in their last three or four possessions, that really helped us,” JRU Coach Vergel Meneses said.
While Teodoro and Mendoza did most of the scoring, Ghana’s AbdulRazak AbdulWahab did the dirty work and hauled down 17 rebounds and blocked three shots.
JRU will take on Lyceum on Friday hoping to spoil the leader’s bid for a sweep of the eliminations.
The Cardinals, who were led by Arnel Orquina’s 14 points, fell to 3-13.
Andoy Estrella hit two free throws to push Mapua closer, 56-58, with 4.30 minutes remaining.
But the Bombers made up for their sour shooting and erratic offensive windup by limiting the Cardinals to just a basket the rest of the way to seal the win.
Meneses said his wards has to play better in the playoffs if they want to advance further in the season.
“Honestly, I’m not happy about the win. They didn’t want to follow instructions, they though we can beat them all on offense,” Meneses said.
The Bombers only had 10 assists and were even outrebounded by the small Cardinals.
“We just have to win our remaining games to build our confidence toward the playoffs,” Meneses said. “I want to challenge them to remain focused despite the strong teams awaiting for us in the semis.”
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza