Paniamogan scorches in the 4th as Bombers blast Cardinals

MANILA, Philippines – Phil Paniamogan caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points – all on 3-pointers – to lead JRU to an 83-72 victory against Mapua in the NCAA Season 89 men's basketball tournament at the The Arena in San Juan today.

Paniamogan finished with 24 points while John Pontejos added 18 points for the Kalentong-based squad.

"Lahat ng players ko may license to shoot basta huwag forced, pero itong dalawang ito (Paniamogan and Pontejos) sila ang hahanapin namin especially sa crunch time," said JRU Head Coach Vergel Meneses.

Trailing 63-64 in the fourth quarter, Paniomagan hit the first of his four triples to start an 18-4 run to break the game wide open and give the Bombers an 81-68 lead with 3:03 remaining left in the game.

JRU played the whole game using their pressure defense  all over the court, forcing Mapua to commit 25 turnovers.

"We have a small team and we are not as good as the other teams in scoring. Yung gusto ko lahat ng players ko naka-focus sa depensa," said Meneses.

Kenneth Ighalo led the Cardinals with a work-man like double-double effort with 22 points and 11 boards but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

JRU came out of the gates on fire, taking a 12-2 lead early in the first quarter and using their vaunted full-court trap to force Mapua to commit costly turnovers. The Bombers ended the opening canto with  a 26-14 upperhand.

With the game turning to a rout, Mapua unleashed a 12-2 closing run in the second quarter capped by an Andrew Estrella layup to cut the lead to 10, 43-33, with JRU leading at the break.

Mapua finished strong in the third quarter and surged ahead courtesy of an 18-4 blast capped by back to back 3-pointers from Kenneth Ighalo to take the lead 62-60 entering the final canto.