(FCF / Martin San Diego)
It’s strike three for Benilde as Jose Rizal U evaded a bullet to the chest.
NCAA Season 89 hosts De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde suffered its third straight setback in another heartbreaker, this time in overtime against Jose Rizal University, 73-71, at the San Juan Arena on Thursday night.
Facing a 14-point lead deficit, the Blazers, anchored on reserve point guard RJ Argamino’s playmaking and Roberto Bartolo’s timely inside points, the Taft-based team held the Bombers scoreless in the last seven minutes of the fourth quarter and setting a 14-0 blaze.
Seemingly unfazed in their meltdown, the Bombers however found relief through the two-man game of Paolo Pontejos and Jordan de la Paz, with the latter benefiting from two pinpoint passes from the former.
The duo cleared the dust for the Bombers by splitting their pair of free throws, as the Blazers succumbed to a hasty full court inbound pass by Bartolo, and later, a muffed three point shot by Luis Sinco that could have won the game for Benilde.
“This is a team of 11 rookies, they still have to play smarter and embrace the system, which puts premium on defense and hustle,” commented JRU head coach Vergel Meneses. “We hope this is a character-building win for the team for them to be more mature, especially in handling big leads.”
Pontejos led the Bombers (2-2) with 17 points and six rebounds while de la Paz scored five of his seven points in overtime. Philip Paniamogan also chipped in 17 points, all scored in the first half.
The still winless Blazers (0-3), who have lost all of their games by an average of 1.3 points, were led by Mark Romero with 17 points, nine rebounds, and three assists while Bartolo had a double-double of ten points and ten rebounds.
Meanwhile, Bombers forward Marco Balagtas will face an automatic one-game suspension for a disqualifying foul after hitting Blazer forward Fonz Saavedra with an elbow on the head while grabbing a defensive rebound in the second quarter.
BOX SCORES
JOSE RIZAL (73): Pontejos 17, Paniamogan 17, Juanico 8, Mabulac 8, Dela Paz 7, Lasquety 6, Abanto 4, Benavides 4, Salaveria 2, Balagtas 0, Grospe 0
BENILDE (71): Romero 17, Saavedra 15, Sinco 11, Bartolo 10, Taha 7, Grey 4, Argamino 2, Garcia 2, Deles 2, Ongteco 1, Jonson 0, Carlos 0
QUARTERS: 17-17, 35-33, 55-47, 61-61, 73-71 (OT)
