Jose Rizal University closed out its first round campaign with a big win yesterday, downing Mapua, 68-59, in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan City.
Aaron Bordon posted a career-high 17 points on an 8-of-14 shooting from the field apart from hauling four rebounds for the Bombers, who extended their winning run to four games for a 6-3 record.
JRU dictated the tempo for most parts of the game and led by as many as 19 points before the Cardinals made a serious comeback.
The Bombers, however, regrouped just in time to douse cold water on the Cardinals – thanks mainly to the efforts of Bordon and John Grospe.
The two combined for 11 points at crunch time.
JRU coach Vergel Meneses was far from being satisfied with the way they closed out the game.
“A win is a win, but I’m not happy about how the way we won,” said Meneses. “Mapua has nothing to lose, but they gave us a hard time. Our turnovers helped them to get back. Good thing we made our shots in the end.”
Jed Mendoza quietly added 12 points and five rebounds for the Bombers while Grospe finished with 11 points and three boards, and AbdulWahab AbdulWazak collared 21 rebounds apart from scoring five points.
Mapua slipped to 1-8 with only eight players seeing action.
Christian Bunag had a double-double of 15 points and 21 rebounds while Denniel Aguirre posted 11 boards and eight points, but their efforts still fell short of getting out of the rut.
JRU 68 – Bordon 17, Mendoza 12, Grospe 11, Dela Virgen 11, Teodoro 7, Abdul Razak 5, Poutouochi 3, Mate 2, Sawat 0, David 0.
MAPUA 59 – Bunag 15, Victoria 12, Gabo 8, Aguirre 8, Pelayo 6, Nieles 4, Raflores 4, Jimenez 2.
Quarters: 19-16, 38-34, 49-42, 68-59.
