EAC survives San Sebastian, gets first win in Filoil caging

MANILA, Philippines – Emilio Aguinaldo College survived a fourth quarter scare and employed a stingy defense to help them escape with a 73-68 victory over perennial NCAA contender San Sebastian College at the Filoil Flying V Premier Cup at the Arena in San Juan Wednesday.

The Stags stringed together a 16-6 run in the fourth quarter to tie the game 68-all courtesy of a Jon Rebollos trey at the 2:05 mark.

But the Generals played solid defense the rest of the way and held the Stags scoreless in the final two minutes.

Ely Paguia came up with a big putback for his only two points in the game to give the lead back to the Generals with 52.5 seconds remaining. EAC's Jack Arquero and Noube Happi then converted on trips to the free throw line for the final count.

“We played well in the first half but had problems in the second half. Luckily we still won the game, ngayon lang kasi nakukumpleto ang team,” said EAC coach Gerry Esplana.

“Some players just came back from injuries and others from the province. Ngayon lang makikita yung magagawa nila as a team,” he added.

Happi recorded monstrous double-double output with 19 markers and 17 boards while John Monteclaro added 11 points for the Generals.

Esplana stressed the importance of their preparation and revealed that their final lineup is far from complete.

“Importante sa amin itong Filoil for our preparation for the NCAA. Hindi pa final yung lineup namin,” said Esplana.

EAC finally barged into the win column after five straight setbacks while SSC dropped to 2-5.