Generals barge into win column

Emilio Aguinaldo College refused to crumble under pressure, hanging tough to pull off a 94-87 escape over San Sebastian College for its first win in Season 102 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The Generals entered the fourth quarter with a 78-68 advantage but the Stags made it interesting, cutting the lead to one, 83-82, with 5:46 to go.

EJ Castillo, however, went on a personal 5-0 blitz to up the Generals’ lead to six, 88-82, with 4:37 remaining. The Stags crept close again by two, 88-86, but the Generals went on a game-ending 6-1 run to send seal their first win in four starts.

Wilmar Oftana and Jacob Shanoda paced the scoring parade, finishing with 18 points apiece for the Generals, who drew 17 and 12 markers from MJ and Harvae Raymundo, respectively.