Allen Laurenaria saved his biggest play for last. The JRU Heavy Bombers forward grabbed an offensive rebound and scored on the putback with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to lift the Heavy Bombers past the Perpetual Help Altas, 72-70, on Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan in the NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
The win sends JRU to 7-2 and solo first place in Group A to close out the crossover round, and it comes right after a 70-66 loss to the Letran Knights last Thursday. Perpetual, on the other hand, lost its sixth straight, its third in overtime, and dropped to 2-7 in Group B.
“Sa ‘kin naman pinagtrabahuhan ko naman ‘to. Nag-struggle ako sa mga past games ko at ginawa kong motivation ‘yon para makabalik ako,” said Laurenaria, who scored JRU’s last two baskets in the extra period, including the game-winner.
A Wild Finish Between JRU and Perpetual
Perpetual opened the fourth with a 9-0 run in the first four minutes, but JRU answered with a 6-0 counter to cut the deficit to three with 2:49 remaining. JM Tulabut then stretched the Altas’ lead to five, only to be whistled for a flagrant foul, and the Bombers made the most of it to stay in striking distance.
Gelo Gelsano’s fourth triple gave Perpetual a seven-point cushion, but Lawrence Mangubat and Laurenaria sparked a rally that pulled JRU within one with under a minute to go. After Aries Borja split his free throws with 24 seconds left, Chris Hubilla’s transition layup tied the game at 65-all. LA Casinillo missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer, and the game went to overtime.
Sean Salvador broke the deadlock in the extra period, sinking both free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt. Mark Gojo Cruz answered with a layup to cut it to one. With 41 seconds left, Laurenaria extended JRU’s lead with a fastbreak layup off a steal, but Casinillo drilled a clutch triple to tie the game at 70-all. Then came Laurenaria’s putback.
“Credit to the boys na hindi bumitaw sa sistema until the end. Grabe talaga ‘yung NCAA Season 102, walang laro na madali, talagang ang hihirap,” said JRU head coach Nani Epondulan.
Who Stood Out?
Laurenaria finished with a game-high 20 points and 6 rebounds. Hubilla posted a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds.
For Perpetual, Casinillo had a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Gelsano nearly matched it with 18 points and 9 rebounds. Borja added 16 points in the loss.
Casinillo and company return to action on Friday, October 23, when they take on the Arellano Chiefs at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan. The victors, on the other hand, will face off against the San Beda Red Lions on Monday, October 26, also at the same venue.
