MANILA – King Gurtiza carried the scoring for Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals in overtime as they defeated Arellano University Chiefs, 87-80, in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
After failing to close out the Chiefs in the regulation period, Gurtiza kicked off the extension period with a three-pointer and a floater en route to taking their first win of the season.
Gurtiza finished with a team-high of 18 points to go with three assists and four rebounds, while Harvey Pagsanjan and Nobie Lucero contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, for EAC.
“Sabi lang ni coach na stay composed kami kasi ‘yun ‘yung mga talo namin last season, eh. ‘Yun mga lamang na kami tapos nahahaol pa kami sa dulo,” Gurtiza said in a post-game interview.
“Lamang kami all throughout the game tapos mahahabol kami then lalamang sila,” he added. “Composure talaga yung pinaka importante lalo na’t madami kaming beterano sa team.”
Lorenz Capulong finished with 19 points, while Troy Valencia added 16 markers for the Chiefs.
Meanwhile, San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags used a huge fourth quarter run to defeat the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights in come-from-behind fashion, 91-84.
Rafael Are led the way with 30 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with six rebounds and six assists as the Golden Stags kicked off their campaign on a winning note.
Christian Ricio and Tristan Felebrico added 14 markers apiece, and Reymart Escobido contributed 13 markers for the Golden Stags, now under head coach Arvin Bonleon.
The Knights were on top by 14 points in the fourth quarter before the Golden Stags slowly clawed their way back behind Are and Felebrico to take an 82-81 lead before finishing off the match with a 9-2 blast./PN
BOX SCORE:
EAC 87 – Gurtiza 18, Pagsanjan 13, Lucero 11, Quinal 9, Oftana 9, Doromal 8, Ochavo 7, Loristo 4, Manacho 4, Ageles 2, Bagay 2, Luciano 0, Umpad 0, Bacud 0.
ARELLANO 80 – Capulong 19, Valencia 16, Vinoya 13, Ongotan 10, Hernal 5, Acop 5, Camay 5, De Leon 4, Estacio 2, Miller 2, Borromeo 0, Espiritu 0, Dela Cruz 0, Libang 0, Geronimo 0.
Quarterscores: 24-17, 46-38, 60-59, 77-77, 87-80.
