Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Calvo helps Letran hold off Benilde


The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights are slowly finding there identity.

The defending NCAA champions bucked a slow fourth quarter in making the stops and clutch plays as the Knights staved-off the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, 56-52, to gain solo 4th in the NCAA Season 92 Seniors Basketball tournament.

Jom Sollano, coming off the bench for the third straight game, led the Knights with 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and nine boards. JP Calvo and Bong Quinto chipped in 11 points apiece.

“Sinabi ko naman sa inyo hindi lang team ni Rey eto,” Letran head coach Jeff Napa said about Rey Nambatac, who was limited to just eight markers on 2-for-9 shooting. “Masaya ako na marami kaming bala.”

“Happy ako at least nag step-up yung lima. At least ngayon, nakikita ko na kung sino ang puwede talaga.”

The Knights torched the non-existent Benilde defense at the start of the third frame. Behind Calvo, Letran went on a 13-3 run to gain the biggest lead of the game, 42-38, with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. The Green and White though made a living from the foul stripe to close out the quarter on a 9-0 run to stay in the game.

“Alam naman namin na hahabol ang Benilde kaya it’s all about our defense, it’s all about us,” Napa added. “Naglalaro kami nung third quarter for sure bumitaw kami sa sarili namin, nakalimutan namin na team kami.”

Slowly, the Blazers were able to chip the Letran. With 2:03 remaining, the Taft cagers were able to cut the lead to just four, 52-48. After a timeout, Felix Apreku was able to drain a jumper to beat the shotblock. A 24 second violation by the Blazers led to a basket by Calvo with 13:2 ticks remaining to seal the game.

#ReadMore  Racal turns back Tanduay late to keep perfect slate intact

“Luckily nung crucial stretch, binalik nila yung sarili nila and we started to play defense again,” Napa closed.

Clement Leutcheu was the only Blazer in double-figures. He notched a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards. Christian Fajarito and Carlo Young chipped in nine markers each.

As a team, the Knights shot 39 percent from the field but Benilde shot even at a worse rate at 35 percent. Moreover, Letran was able to drain five triples in the game while the Blazers went 0-for-10 from downtown.

The Letran Knights (2-1) take a 13 day break before facing the Arellano Chiefs (2-0) on Thursday at 4:00pm. The Benilde Blazers (0-2), on the other hand, face the JRU Heavy Bombers on Tuesday, July 12 at 4:00pm

The Scores:

CSJL (56) – Sollano 16, Calvo 11, Quinto 11, Nambatac 8, Apreku 4, Balanza 4, Balagasay 2, Bernabe 0, Dela Pena 0, Luib 0, Sario 0.

CSB (52) – Leutcheu 11, Fajarito 9, Young 9, Dixon 8, Pasamante 7, Sta. Maria 6, Belgica 0, Castor 0, Domingo 0, Pajarillaga 0, Saavedra 0, San Juan 0.

Quarterscores: 13-9, 29-20, 43-35, 56-52

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

By Vito Martin A stellar performance by King Gurtiza propelled Emilio Aguinaldo College to a 75-65 victory over defending champion Colegio de San Juan...

Basketball

By: Vito Martin An exceedingly tense matchup between the hosts of the NCAA Season 99 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Jose Rizal University, and the College...

Basketball

By: Vito Martin Tensions were high in the Filoil Ecooil Centre as the College of Saint Benilde survived a career game from Agem Miranda...

Basketball

By: Vito Martin In a rematch of last year’s Final Four matchup, Lyceum of the Philippines University narrowly earned their revenge against Colegio de...

Basketball

Meralco struggled to contain Kyndall Dykes leading to an 82-90 defeat at the hands of Al Arabi to open the 2023 Doha International Basketball...

Basketball

By: Vito Martin Coming off their first finals appearance in 20 years, the College of Saint Benilde was seen as one of the favorites...

Basketball

By Vito Martin Lyceum of the Philippines University completed a massive 85-81 upset of College of Saint Benilde to cap opening day of the...

Basketball

By: Vito Martin In the midst of the numerous changes that the NCAA three-time defending champion, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, has undergone...

Advertisement