Generals disarm Pirates
MANILA, Philippines — The Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals are whipping boys no more.
A season removed from placing 10th and dead last, EAC shocked league leader Lyceum of the Philippines University, 83-76, in overtime yesterday to be in the race for a dream Final Four in the 99th NCAA men’s basketball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.
It was the third win for the Generals with as many losses, already matching their win total from a forgettable performance a year back.
The result was made extra special by the fact that it came at the expense of the league’s current best team, LPU, which absorbed its first setback of the season after zooming to a red-hot 6-0 start.
And it was coincidental that EAC’s new coach Jerson Cabiltes was at the center of its renaissance.
Now, the Generals have moved back to the upper half of the standings – in fifth place – with a crack at history by making the Final Four for the first time since joining the league 14 years ago.
In the other game, Mapua downed Letran, 77-71, to jump to solo No. 2 with a 5-1 mark.The reigning three-peat champions remained winless in six outings.
For Cabiltes, defense did it after throwing the defensive anvil on the Pirates in OT where the latter was held to just two points.
King Gurtiza reigned supreme with 18 points, including a basket that tied the score at 74 and eventually forced the extra five-minute period.
It was all EAC from there.
LPU’s defeat was hastened by the absence of one of its top players – bruiser Shawn Umali, who was suspended for a pair of infractions in their last game.
