By MARK REY MONTEJO
Defending champion National University came alive in the fourth quarter and took the fight out of College of St. Benilde in overtime to eke out a 88-72 win to clinch a semifinal spot in the FilOil-EcoOil Preseason Cup on Wednesday, June 14, in San Juan.
*National U's Jake Figueroa (FilOil EcoOil Sports' Images)*
Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair in the first three quarters with the Blazers holding on to a 72-69 lead with a few ticks left before Bulldogs guard JK Figueroa drained a clutch three-pointer from the right wing to knot the score at 72-all with 1.1 seconds remaining. Benilde was cast in a dry spell after going scoreless in the overtime, as NU unloaded a 16-0 blitz to take the victory. Figueroa lifted the Bulldogs with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Steve Nash Enriquez topscored with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. Felipe Marasigan spearheaded CSB with 15 points and five rebounds while Miguel Oczon, who delivered for the Blazers in the waning minutes, added 11 points, four rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Far Eastern University made a strong statement as it started the play-in tournament with a dominant 96-65 win over the VisMin regional champion Jose Maria College. The Tamaraws were simply unstoppable, surging past the hapless Kings with a 15-2 attack midway through the second frame that all but sealed the match for the Mendiola-based squad which will go for the kill on Thursday against the same team. Xavier Torres rallied the Tamaraw with 20 points and five rebounds while Royce Alforque added 14 points, three rebounds and six assists. Jose Maria College, the Escandor Cup titlist, was anchored by Chris Catarong who scattered 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists while AJ Poyos added 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the losing cause. Meanwhile, Colegio de San Juan de Letran also drew first blood in the play-in affair, shooting down South Luzon regional champion Guang Ming College, 85-73. Kurt Reyson registered 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Knights, while forward Kobe Monje provided support with 18 points. Dikachi Ududo lifted Guang Ming College with his 24 points and eight rebounds.
Defending champion National University came alive in the fourth quarter and took the fight out of College of St. Benilde in overtime to eke out a 88-72 win to clinch a semifinal spot in the FilOil-EcoOil Preseason Cup on Wednesday, June 14, in San Juan.
*National U's Jake Figueroa (FilOil EcoOil Sports' Images)*
Both teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair in the first three quarters with the Blazers holding on to a 72-69 lead with a few ticks left before Bulldogs guard JK Figueroa drained a clutch three-pointer from the right wing to knot the score at 72-all with 1.1 seconds remaining. Benilde was cast in a dry spell after going scoreless in the overtime, as NU unloaded a 16-0 blitz to take the victory. Figueroa lifted the Bulldogs with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists while Steve Nash Enriquez topscored with 21 points, four rebounds and four assists. Felipe Marasigan spearheaded CSB with 15 points and five rebounds while Miguel Oczon, who delivered for the Blazers in the waning minutes, added 11 points, four rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, Far Eastern University made a strong statement as it started the play-in tournament with a dominant 96-65 win over the VisMin regional champion Jose Maria College. The Tamaraws were simply unstoppable, surging past the hapless Kings with a 15-2 attack midway through the second frame that all but sealed the match for the Mendiola-based squad which will go for the kill on Thursday against the same team. Xavier Torres rallied the Tamaraw with 20 points and five rebounds while Royce Alforque added 14 points, three rebounds and six assists. Jose Maria College, the Escandor Cup titlist, was anchored by Chris Catarong who scattered 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists while AJ Poyos added 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists in the losing cause. Meanwhile, Colegio de San Juan de Letran also drew first blood in the play-in affair, shooting down South Luzon regional champion Guang Ming College, 85-73. Kurt Reyson registered 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Knights, while forward Kobe Monje provided support with 18 points. Dikachi Ududo lifted Guang Ming College with his 24 points and eight rebounds.