Jose Rizal University wins a gritty dogfight with Emilio Aguinaldo College to claim the final playoff spot in #NCAA101, setting up a quarterfinal slugfest with Group A leaders Perpetual Help.

With their entire season on the line, JRU forced crucial stops in the final two minutes of regulation to earn some breathing room after a frenzied back-and-forth with the Generals.

The Heavy Bombers demonstrated guts and grit during the game’s most critical stages, such as their three straight offensive boards that allowed for Shawn Argente to drain a lead-grabbing triple with under three minutes left in the fourth. 

After two free throws from EAC’s Wilmar Oftana, Negros Occidental native Stephen Garupil fired the most important out of his four total three-pointers at the 1:40 mark to give JRU a 74-72 advantage. 

They then forced a costly turnover on homegrown General EJ Castillo that led to a wide open layup for Justin Lozano in transition, before once again putting the clamps on the EAC rookie in the ensuing possession that ended with an Allan Laurenaria basket with 42.7 ticks left on the game clock. 

Garupil went perfect (4/4) from three-point distance and totalled 14 points with 5 boards and 3 dimes to win the best player honors. All-around sophomore Justin Lozano top-scored for Coach Nani Epondulan with 15 markers alongside 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal with 0 turnovers. 

Graduating EAC team captain Nico Quinal dropped a game-high 16 points on 4-for-8 three-point shooting, while EJ Castillo and Wilmar Oftana collected 14 and 13 markers respectively in the losing effort. 

The win sets up a quarterfinals match between the JRU Heavy Bombers and Group A leaders Perpetual Help.