MANILA, Philippines — When the going gets tough, count on the tough Lawrence Mangubat to get going.
Mangubat stepped up in the clutch and helped Jose Rizal University get out of woods, orchestrating a great 64-62 escape over Arellano U yesterday that reclaimed for the Bombers a piece of the Group A lead in NCAA Season 102 at the Filoil Center.
The spitfire transferee from Mapua came alive just in time as he poured in seven of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, including a booming triple that helped JRU erase a four-point deficit in the last 1.27 minutes.
Sean Salvador coolly sank two late foul shots that gave the Bombers the lead for good as the Chiefs, who held the lead for most of the game including the highest at 38-24 in the second canto, just couldn’t buy a basket the rest of the way.
The result sent JRU back on top alongside St. Benilde on identical 4-1 cards.
In contrast, it shoved AU to its second defeat against four triumphs.
And thanks mainly to Mangubat and the Bombers’ persistence to turn the tide and snatch the win.
“First half, grabe adjustment sobra dahil sa higpit ng depensang binigay sakin,” said Mangubat, who also had a game-best nine rebounds, three steals and two assists. “Pero naniniwala kami sa systema at hindi nag give up ang buong team.”
Later, Mapua outgunned Emilio Aguinaldo, 89-84, in overtime to hike its record to 3-3.
The Generals dropped to 2-4.