By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Negrense Mart James Barrera caught fire offensively as the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Heavy Bombers stunned the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights, 90-86, in the NCAA Season 100 men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil EcoOil Center in San Juan City on Saturday, October 26.
The Negrense forward finished with a career-high of 22 points to go with two assists, one rebound and a steal, as the Heavy Bombers halted their losing run to improve to a 4-9 win-loss record.
According to Barrera, he was challenged by Heavy Bombers head coach Louie Gonzales to step up his offense following his subpar performance in their past few matches.
“Siguro po, sa akin lang po, palagi akong tsina-challenge ni coach, kasi feel ko nung past few games namin, hindi ako masyadong na-meet ‘yung expectation sa akin ng coaches coming into this season,” Barrera said.
“Kaya inisip ko na lang po maging ready, gamitin man ako o hindi, at sumunod lang sa game plan at system ni coach, tiwala lang din sa sarili at kumpyansa lang,” he added.
Joshua Guiab also made his presence felt offensively with 19 markers, four rebounds and three assists, while Wayne de Leon contributed 10 markers and seven boards for the Heavy Bombers.
Johnsherick Estrada tallied 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while Jace Miller and Vince Cuajao contributed 16 and 13 markers, respectively, for the Knights, which dropped to a 7-7 record./ASC, WDJ