Bombers' defense shackle Cards, secure solo 3rd in NCAA

Jose Rizal University is fast becoming the new defensive whiz in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. On Wednesday, the Heavy Bombers showed it to all and sundry after drubbing the Mapua Cardinals, 61-54, at The Arena in San Juan. The Heavy Bombers were coming off from a sluggish 74-70 overtime win over lowly Emilio Aguinaldo College last time out in a game where JRU coach Vergel Meneses gave his wards a mouthful for their so-so performance. This time, though, the Heavy Bombers played like a team on a mission. Employing their vaunted run, jump and switch pressure defense, the Mandaluyong-based dribblers held their opponents scoreless in a seven-minute stretch of the third period to turn a slim 31-30 JRU lead to a sizeable 43-31 advantage, 31 seconds heading to the final period. Mapua mounted a rally in the fourth quarter behind Jason Pascual, Allan Mangahas and Macky Acosta, moving close to within four, 50-54, with under a minute left, but role players Alex Almario and Jeckster Apinan provided key plays down the stretch for the Heavy Bombers. Almario, who scored 10 of his 12 points in the payoff period, hit a teardrop from the left baseline that made it 56-50 with 43 seconds to go before the two teams traded points from the foul line for the final tally. JRU finished the league's first half of the season with a 6-2 card to gain solo third spot. The Cardinals saw their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 5-3 for fourth. Almario shared scoring honors with Hayes and Raycon Kabigting. Hayes also grabbed seven rebounds, two assists and four steals. The lanky Apinan played a solid game, drilling in seven points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Cameroonian Joe Etame had six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Pascual led the Cardinals with 13 points, including 10 in the final quarter, while Mangahas had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. - RCJ, GMANews.TV