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FilOil: Generals deal reeling Wildcats fourth straight loss
Pau Pascual of EAC soars past Wildcat Arthur Desaville for a layup. KC Cruz
The EAC Generals tamed the HTC Wildcats in a comfortable 79-69 win on Wednesday at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.
The win lifted the Generals to a 2-1 record and second place in Group C of the FilOil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup. The loss was the fourth in a row for the Wildcats who find themselves at the bottom of the table.
“We threw away the ball. We started strong in the first quarter. I think we might have relaxed, thinking this is just a team from the province - they’re no problem. So next thing, we had a problem,” said EAC head coach Gerry Esplana.
“A win is a win but we can’t afford to be complacent.”
EAC got the jump on the Mindanao side early and put the clamps on the Wildcat offense. Playing physical defense, the Generals controlled the first quarter by denying the haphazard Wildcats clean looks at the basket and limiting their second-chance opportunities.
Meylan Landicho was the sole offensive bright spot for Holy Trinity in the first half, scoring 12 points. He later finished with a game-high 20 markers.
EAC star center Cedric Happi was limited by a pinched nerve in his back and only logged 24 minutes of game time, scoring just four points in the contest.
The Generals used a balanced offensive attack to compensate for their injured star as six different players scored eight or more points.
The game turned into a sloppy affair in the second half as both teams began to pile up unforced turnovers, combining for 42 turnovers. HTC was more effective capitalizing on these opportunities, scoring 21 turnover points while the Generals managed just eight points off the Wildcats' 18 turnovers.
The Wildcats managed to cut the lead to four, 61-57, after Raymar Roxas split a pair of free throws early in the fourth quarter, but turnovers continuted to cost Holy Trinity opportunities to threaten EAC.
The Generals are slated to next play the College of St Benilde on Monday, May 19 at 2:15pm. HTC will play back-to-back contests: Friday, May 16 against CEU and Saturday, May 17 against UP. The game against UP will welcome television star Gerald Anderson to the HTC line up. - JDL, GMA News
The scores:
The scores:
EAC 79- Arquero 16, Aguilar 13, Jamon 11, Onwubere 10, Morada 8, Saludo 8, Happi 4, Sntos 4, Serrano 4, Pascual 1
HTC 69- Landicho 20, Masaglang 17, Batiller 11, Mahaling 8, Roxas 5, Pragados 4, lape 2, Pepito 2
