UE five survives RP U-18; Eagles up

MANILA, Philippines - Paul Lee hit 19 points as University of the East recovered in time to beat RP Youth U-18, 72-66, yesterday in the Filoil Flying V Tanduay First Five Preseason Invitational Cup at the Arena in San Juan.

Raffy Reyes added 12 for the Warriors, who also drew clutch plays from Garrick Ayala and rookie Lord Casajero to anchor the victory, their third against two losses.

The Nationals dropped to 2-2.

In the second game, Jose Rizal U notched its third win by routing the debuting National University, 74-56, in the tournament presented by Mighty Bond Extreme, with major sponsors Total Phils. Corp., San Marino Corned Tuna, Accel, Filoil Gas Company, Flying V and Hanesbrands.

With UE up by a point, 65-64, Casajeros rifled in a triple from the corner in the last 1:51 then Ayala sealed the win with a putback for a 70-64 cushion.

Kiefer Ravena again led the Nationals with 18 points while Jeron Teng added 13 for the team, which missed the services of Ael Banal.

The Nationals put up a tough stand all game and even led at 57-56 on a layup from Ravena with 7:30 remaining. But the Warriors, coached by Lawrence Chongson and Mark Herrera, asserted their might and used their experience to outfox the youthful squad in the stretch.

In Group A action, Eric Salamat fired 21 points while Nico Salva had 19 as Ateneo beat Letran, 114-90, to notch its fifth win in six games.

The Eagles stamped their class early, taking double-digit spreads in a run they sustained till the fourth quarter before cruising to the lopsided triumph, which served as a fitting send-off for the team, which is set to leave for the US next week for its annual training. They will be back after two weeks after a series of tune-up matches in Los Angeles.

“I think the key here was our ability to run the fast break. The last few games, we did a good job in rebounding so we just want to continue that,” said Ateneo coach Norman Black.

In junior play, Romard Cerrudo pulled off a jumper with three seconds left as Arellano U hacked out an 87-85 squeaker over University of Santo Tomas.

Cerrudo’s last basket capped his sterling 33-point performance, including 17 in the fourth period, to rally the Braves past the Tiger Cubs for their first victory in Group C after back-to-back setbacks.

The Tiger Cubs actually led by 18 points in the third quarter but the Braves fought back behind Cerrudo, who helped bring the team to within two, 78-80, with 1:50 remaining in the last quarter.

A Ronnie Mison twinner gave UST a four-point cushion but the Braves, with Donald Gumaru stepping up with a triple and a jumper, wrested the upperhand at 85-83 with 40.7 seconds left in the contest. – Koji Echeminada/Kristina Villanueva