Southwestern University came back from 21 points down to turn the tables on Emilio Aguinaldo College for a 80-75 win yesterday at the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup at the San Juan Arena.
With Jan Jamon and Francis Munsayac raining triples, (both drilled three and five shots from beyond the arc respectively), the Generals raced ahead, 38-17. It didn’t help that the Cebu-based team missed 13 of 24 free throws in the first half that would have made the game much closer.
A late flurry of baskets by Landry Sanjo allowed SWU to cut the lead to a more manageable deficit, 44-34, going into the half.
The third quarter saw a more energized Cobras team emerge from the dugout. Sanjo and Adam Mohammed conspired for a 13-1 run where they repeatedly attacked EAC’s interior. By the time their run ended, the score was 49-45 with 4:55 to play. SWU committed a tactical mistake when head coach Mike Reyes pulled out Sanjo for a brief respite. EAC used the opportunity to regain the momentum as Jamon and Munsayac hit three triples (that sandwiched a John Tayongtong bucket) for a 56-51 lead.
When Sanjo reentered the fray, he immediately attacked EAC’s African reinforcement Gigi Manga for a bucket. Cobras guard Nilton Otida went coast to coast for a layup then Melvin Holper, in the midst of a horrible shooting game, hit his only shot of the game, a triple, to level the match at 62-all, the first and only deadlock of the game.
Southwestern played more aggressive down the stretch and held off EAC’s late charge with Mohammad hitting a big triple at the 1:07 mark of the fourth period for a 76-71 lead. Point guard Javy Bautista and Mohammad hit four free throws in the final 49 seconds for an 80-75 win.
Sanjo scored a team high 23 points to go with 16 rebounds. Adam Mohammad backed him up with 16 points.
Francis Munsayac scored a game-high 26 points, including 6-8 triples while Jamon added 24.
Southwestern raised its Filoil record to 2-5 while EAC tumbled to 0-2.
Notes: Three unsportsmanlike fouls were called in the first half. The first was when SWU guard Monbert Arong punched Jan Jamon in the breadbasket following some shoving while going upcourt. The second was when Jamon whacked Cobras forward Bernie Bregondo and the third was the foul called on SWU’s Mark Panerio on EAC’s Jack Arquero.
The SWU Cobras in the absence of head coach Raul Alcoseba are coached by Mike Reyes, the younger brother of Gilas head coach Chot. Mike played for Ateneo and for Jose Rizal University.
SWU 80 – Sanjo 23, Mohammad 16, Panerio 9, Escobio 8, Goloran 6, Pajantoy 6, Holper 3, Bautista 3, Otida 2, Siewe 1, Ortega 0, Arong 0.
EAC 75 – Munsayac 26, Jamon 24, Onwubere 7, Tayongtong 5, King 4, Arquero 4, Mallari 3, Manga 2, Castro 0, Monteclaro 0, Santos 0.
Quarter scores:
9-21, 34-44, 54-60, 80-75