by Kevin Estrada
MANILA – Ivan Panapanaan became the hero Jose Rizal University needed, defeating Arellano just in time with a 79-77 thriller in the lone NCAA Men’s Basketball game at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum Wednesday afternoon.
A down-the-wire affair was the fitting end to the crossover phase of the regular season, as the Heavy Bombers escaped the fabled arena with a vital win to inch closer to Group B co-leaders San Beda and St. Benilde with a 5-4 record.
After stopping Mav Vinoya’s inside incursion, JRU leaked out on the break and Sean Salvador found Panapanaan who made no mistake in scoring a wide-open layup at the horn and was mobbed by his teammates while being cramped up.
Salvador’s third and final dime complemented his 19 points and 5 rebounds, while Shawn Argente led all scorers with 21.
JRU coach Nani Epondulan was at a loss for words in how the game turned out.
“Both teams kasi, wala nang timeout,” he said after the contest. “I told the players na babalik at babalik sa amin yung bola.”
The one-time NCAA MVP cheerfully downplayed the personal nostalgia the fabled arena had in him.
“I let them do their homework,” said Epondulan, who was the star guard in a stacked JRU squad that was coached by Boy De Vera and went to the finals on two separate occasions (1999 and 2001). “For me naman, iba yung player, iba yung coach.”
“Masasabi ko na napakabait talaga sakin ng venue na ito.”
The thrilling contest was evident with both teams could only muster leads as much as eight in the second period, and had nerves coming into play as Arellano and JRU missed 17 free throws (37/54) combined in the contest.
Vinoya had 11 for Arellano, which also had Cyril Hernal leading them with 17 in a valiant effort that only went in vain as the Chiefs fell to 3-6 yet remained in third in Group A.
The scores:
JRU 79 – Argente 21, Salvador 19, Laurenaria 12, Garupil 10, Panapanaan 4, Castillo 4, Herrera 3, Duque 2, Benitez 2, Peñaverde 2, Sarmiento 0
ARELLANO 77 – Hernal 17, Abiera 15, Geronimo 14, Vinoya 11, Ongotan 9, Valencia 5, Cabotaje 2, Demetria 2, Buenaventura 2, Camay 0, Langit 0, Libang 0, Borromeo 0, Miller 0
Quarter scores: 18-19, 41-37, 59-63, 79-77
