Cards send Bombers to semis duel vs Lions

Games Tuesday (MOA Arena, Pasay)

12 noon – Mapua vs Arellano (Jrs.)

2 p.m. – Letran vs Mapua (Srs.)

4 p.m. – San Beda vs Jose Rizal (Srs.)

MANILA, Philippines – CJ Isit came through with a career-best performance as Mapua outlasted Jose Rizal, 81-76, in a duel for playoff third seeding in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at The Arena in San Juan yesterday.

Isit exploded for 27 points, including 11 in the first quarter helping the Cardinals set the pace early before fending off a late JRU fightback to set up a Final Four confrontation with No. 2 seed Letran.

Jose Rizal settled for fourth spot, facing top seed and reigning five-peat champion San Beda.

The Red Lions and the Knights both carry a twice-to-beat advantage in the semifinals.

“I think our team responded well. We came out with intensity and we took care well of the defensive end,” said Isit, born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

“It’s a tough season for me ,” said Isit, enduring a dislocated right elbow early in the tournament and still mourning the death of his grandmother two weeks ago.

Nigerian Allwell Oraeme, in the running for a rare Rookie of the Year/MVP feat, put in another impressive performance with 11 points, 24 rebounds, five assists and three blocks.

The 19-year-old Lagos native had 13 points, 28 boards, six dish-offs and three blocks in Mapua’s 93-75 win over Arellano in their match Tuesday.

Tey Teodoro led the Jose Rizal with 16 points while Marco Balagtas chipped in 12. Paolo Pontejos, who also lost his father recently, struggled with  two points in 11 minutes of action.

Earlier, Arellano University banked on Guillmer dela Torre’s free throws and its key defensive stops in the stretch as it downed La Salle-Greenhills, 75-74, to stay in the title hunt in the juniors division.

Dela Torre drained two free throws with 41.7 seconds to go and then the Braves shut down the Junior Blazers the rest of the way to arrange another knockout showdown, this time against the second-seeded Mapua Red Robins on Tuesday for the right to play the San Beda Cubs in the finals.

Dela Torre fired a total of 20 points including the game-winning charities.

Lars Sunga and Carlo Abadezo provided the needed support with 14 and 12 points, respectively.

The Junior Blazers, who trounced the Lyceum of the Philippines U Junior Pirates, 88-71, in Tuesday’s playoff for the fourth and last semis berth, had two chances to steal the win but Ricci Rivero missed a layup and Luigi Velasco couldn’t launch a decent shot as time expired.

Reigning six-peat champion San Beda clinched the first finals berth with an 18-game elimination round sweep.

The scores:

First Game (Jrs)

AU 75 – dela Torre 20, Sunga 14, Abadez 12, Espiritu 7, Danas 7, Bataller 6, Fornis 4, Tamayo 3, Calapine 2

La Salle-Greenhills/CSB 74 – Rivero 31, Velasco 10, Pagulayan 9, Manuel 9, Madrigal 8, Herrera 5, Ollano 2, Pedrosa 0, Boo 0

Quarterscores: 15-20, 40-43, 61-all, 75-74

Second Game (Srs)

Mapua 81 – Isit 27, Menina 16, Oraeme 11, Biteng 8, Nieles 8, Serrano 8, Nimes 3, Aguirre 0, Brana 0

Jose Rizal 76 – Teodoro 16, Balagtas 12, Grospe 8, Poutuouchi 7, Estrella 7, Lasquety 6, Dela Paz 6, dela Virgen 5, Cruz 3, Pontejos 2, Sanchez 2, Abdul Wahab 2

Quarterscores: 19-16, 38-32, 56-54, 81-76