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THE Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers kept their composure under fire to score their fourth straight win after escaping the resilient Arellano University Chiefs, 88-82, in the 85th NCAA basketball tournament, yesterday at the Arena in San Juan City.
Faced with their toughest challenge to date, the Heavy Bombers responded with aplomb and leaned on the cool free-throw shooting of top gun John Wilson down the stretch, to bag the win and the solo lead in the standings.
Wilson, the NCAA's leading scorer with an average of 21 points per game, went above and beyond the call of duty, as he almost notched a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. His four straight free-throws in the final minute of the match, though, spelled the difference as it kept the Chiefs at bay. For the game, Wilson went perfect from the charity stripe in his 10 attempts there.
For a while though, it seemed that the Chiefs would take the rug from out of the Heavy Bombers' feet as they led by four at halftime, 43-39, after a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Jerry Miranda. The Chiefs' magic continued in the third period as they led by seven behind 5-foot point guard Leonard Anquilo who scored 10 points in the stretch including seven straight at one point. He ended up with 18 points.
However, the championship experience of JRU proved too much to overcome as Wilson, along with James Sena and Marvin Hayes, all contributed in the final period to lead the Heavy Bombers to victory. Sena had 17 points while Hayes had a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Adrian Celada led the Chiefs with 19 points before fouling out. The Chiefs have dropped two straight games and fell to 2-2. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio
