MANUEL Luis Quezon University-Victoria Sports relied on the one-on-one brilliance of Jason Grimaldo to subdue Emilio Aguinaldo College, 73-68, in the 2017 MBL Open basketball tournament at the fully-airconditioned Victoria Sports Tower in Edsa, Barangay South Triangle, Quezon City.
Grimaldo came away with 19 points, including two clutch free throws with 7.5 seconds left, as the Stallions survived repeated fightbacks by the Generals to secure their second win in six matches.
Before Grimaldo’s free throws, the Generals blew two chances to tie the score when they missed their three-point attempts with the shot clock winding down.
Juan Miguel Gula added 15 points and Nikko Lao contributed 13 points for the Stallions, who are hoping to improve their third-place finish in the MBL First Conference last year.
Grimaldo and Gula combined for 18 of 25 third-quarter points of the Stallions of manager Jomar Acuzar, consultant Jinino Manansala and coach Rainier Carpio.
Jethro Mendoza led the Generals with 28 points, including a conference-high eight three-point shots, in the tournament sponsored by Smart Sports, Ironcon Builders, Star Bread, Dickies Underwear and Gerry’s Grill.
Rustan Bugarin added 15 points, highlighted by two in-your-face dunks at the height of the Generals’ comeback.
The Generals, who were handled by coach Bong Melocoton in the absence of head coach Ariel Sison, dropped to 0-5 with still two games left in their schedule.
The eight-team tournament is part of the MBL’s 18th year anniversary celebrations.
The scores:
MLQU-Victoria Sports (73)—Grimaldo 19, Gula 15, Lao 13, De la Cruz 8, Fabila 8, Detubio 7, Asturiano 3, Estrella 0, Rivera 0, Sumay 0.
EAC (68)—J. Mendoza 28, Bugarin 15, Cadua 7, Tampoc 7, Estacio 7, N. Mendoza 2, Torilla 2, General 0 Gonzales 0, Robin 0, Umali 0.
Quarterscores: 20-18, 37-32, 62-60, 73-68.
Games Saturday:
(PNP Sports Center)
2 p.m.—Wang’s vs PNP
3:30 p.m.—CdSL-V Hotel vs. Diliman-JPA