Jose Rizal University needed an extra five minutes but got the job done, 67-64, to deal Mapua University another heartbreaker in NCAA Season 98 on Friday.
Joshua Guiab posted 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Heavy Bombers while Marwin Dionisio added 15 markers, including four of the team's seven points in overtime.
Up by just three to open the payoff period, the Heavy Bombers unleashed a 10-5 spurt to take a much-needed 60-52 lead with 4:18 left.
But the Cardinals answered with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the deficit, 60-58, before both teams were whistled for a turnover each.
Rence Nocum then came up with a game-tying layup, 60-60, with 11.6 second ticks left before Agem Miranda missed his last attempt to send the game into overtime.
Two free throws courtesy of Dionisio had JRU up by five, 67-62, under the two-minute warning before Nocum made it a 67-64 affair.
A couple of misses from Mapua proved costly as JRU escaped.
JRU stretched its winning streak to three to improve to 3-2 while Mapua slipped to a woeful 1-5 card.
Miranda also scored in double figures for the Heavy Bombers, with 13 points. William Sy, meanwhile, finished with eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Brian Lacap paced Mapua with 13 points while Warren Bonifacio chipped in with nine points and 13 rebounds. Nocum finished with eight points, including the shot that forced overtime, alongside 10 boards.
By the end of the first half, four technical fouls and two unsportsmanlike fouls had already been whistled while JRU's Jonathan Medina was thrown out of the game after entering the court at the 4:59 mark of the second quarter.
A buzzer-beater triple from Toby Agustin from the half-court mark ended the third quarter with JRU enjoying a slim 50-47 cushion.
The scores:
JRU 67 - Guiab 17, Dionisio 15, Miranda 13, Sy 8, Gonzales 8, Amores 2, Celis 2, Medina 2, Delos Santos 0, Dela Rosa 0, Arenal 0, Joson 0, Villarin 0.
Mapua 64 - Lacap 13, Bonifacio 9, Nocum 8, Gamboa 7, Hernandez 6, Garcia 6, Agustin 5, Pido 5, Soriano 3, Salenga 2, Igliane 0, Parinas 0.
Quarters: 19-14, 36-36, 50-47, 60-60, 67-64 (OT).
—JMB, GMA News
