Two second-unit players took charge when it mattered most as the Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Generals powered past the Lyceum Pirates, 84-75, in the 101st NCAA men’s basketball tournament on Saturday at the FilOil Arena in San Juan.
Coming off the bench, Aldeo Lucero and Brianne Angeles delivered big in the final quarter to steer EAC to its third straight victory, improving to a 4-4 record in Group B.
“’Yun naman talaga. We wanted to give minutes to our bench players,” said Generals head coach Jerson Cabiltes, pleased with how his reserves stepped up down the stretch.
While Nico Quinal led the Generals with a game-high 18 points, it was Lucero and Angeles who provided the crucial spark in the payoff period.
Lucero finished with 14 points, eight of which came in the last quarter. His back-to-back baskets in the final 5:06 gave the Generals their largest lead at 79-63.
Angeles contributed six points, all in the fourth, helping EAC pull away from a tight 62-61 edge at the end of the third quarter.
For Lyceum, Rhenz Villegas also tallied 18 points, but the Pirates slipped to 1-6 in Group A.
