Ivan Panapanaan made sure his final basket counted, lifting Jose Rizal University to a 79-77 win over Arellano University on Wednesday in the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
With the teams tied at 77 with 19 seconds remaining, Maverick Vinoya tried to deliver the win for Arellano but missed.
Allan Laurenaria grabbed the rebound, with the ball landing in the hands of Sean Salvador, who found Panapanaan for the game-winning layup with one second left.
Apparently, Panapanaan was already feeling cramps when he made his last shot.
“Tendency ko na lang, makuha 'yung rebound, tatakbo na ako kasi kita ko 'yung oras, paubos na rin. 'Yon, buti na lang nakita ako ni [Sean] Salvador para ipasa sa akin. 'Yung pagtira ko na 'yon, naramdaman ko 'yung pulikat ko,” Panapanaan said.
“Kaya medyo binato ko na lang din eh, kasi alam kong oras na rin. Buti na lang, sumakto sa oras.”
The moment was even more special since he made the shot against his former high school team.
“'Yon 'yung pinakagusto ko eh — lalo na ako 'yung nakapag-shoot sa dulo para ipanalo, at laban pa sa dati kong school.”
Panapanaan finished with only four points, but his last basket turned out to be the most crucial of the game.
“Nabanggit ko naman sa kanila, whatever happens, babalik at babalik sa amin 'yung bola,” said JRU head coach Nani Epondulan.
“Actually, hindi na coach 'yun — sa players na 'yun.”
Shawn Argente led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Salvador added 19. Laurenaria chipped in 12, and Stephen Garupil contributed 10.
Joseph Hernal nearly tallied a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds, while T-Mc Ongotan grabbed 11 boards and scored nine points. Renzo Abiera and Ernjay Geronimo also made solid contributions with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
The victory improved JRU’s record to 5-4, while Arellano slipped to 3-6 at the end of the crossover phase of the elimination round.
—JMB, GMA Integrated News
