Ivan Panapanaan beat the buzzer with a layup and lifted Jose Rizal U to a 79-77 win over Arellano U yesterday in NCAA Season 101 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The Bombers made a pair of defensive stops late, leading to a miss by AU’s King Vinoya, a rebound by Allan Laurenaria and a perfect pass by Sean Salvador to the wide-open Panapanaan for the game winner.
‘I was just thankful that until the last second, they believed that we can do it and there’s always a way,’ said JRU coach Nani Epondulan.
The win sent the Bombers in a share of that critical No. 3 spot in Group B with the Letran Knights on 5-4 records.
The top three teams in the two groups will advance to the quarterfinals while the last two squads will battle it out for one of the last two seats.