Struggling all game long, Jeo Ambohot remained composed late, knocking down the go-ahead bucket to lift Letran past Perpetual in overtime, 82-80, Friday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
“A win is a win, two points, but we still need to learn how to close out games,” said first-year Letran head coach Bonnie Tan.
Down 80-81 with 12.4 seconds left, Ambohot cleaned up an Ato Ular miss to put Letran up.
Ambohot ended up with nine points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks.
Edgar Charcos committed a turnover in the next possession while Bonbon Batiller split his charities to give Letran a two-point cushion.
Jielo Razon missed a game-tying shot as time expired.
“Well coached ang kalaban talagang they came prepared this game,” Tan shared. “Kami naman dalawa din ang panalo namin kasi ang goal namin ay manalo sila sa turnover, meaning ma-lessen namin yung turnovers before which we achieved in this game.”
Batiller continued his heater run for Letran, this time scoring 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Ular added 19 points and 13 boards to help the Knights raise their slate to 3-1.
Even if both squads led by as much as 11 points in the game, the two contenders in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball tournament exchanged leads 18 times while being deadlocked seven times.
Charcos, who sent the game into overtime with a triple with 4.1 ticks left in regulation, had 15 points. Ton Peralta and Luke Sese chipped in 14 and 13 markers respectively.
Ben Adamos tallied 12 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks but Perpetual dropped to 1-2.
Letran looks to make it four in a row when it faces the Mapua Cardinals on Tuesday, July 30 at 12:00 nn. On the other hand, Perpetual looks to snap out of its skid when it squares off against the hapless JRU Heavy Bombers on Tuesday, July 23 at 12:00 nn.
The Scores:
CSJL 82 – Batiller 22, Ular 19, Muyang 10, Ambohot 9, Balanza 9, Caralipio 5, Sangalang 5, Yu 2, Olivario 1, Mina 0, Reyson 0, Pambid 0, Javillonar 0
UPHSD 80 – Charcos 15, Peralta 14, Sese 13, Adamos 12, Aurin 11, Razon 11, Sevilla 2, Egan 2, Lanoy 0, Tamayo 0, Giussani 0, Barasi 0, Cuevas 0
Quarterscores: 11-17, 33-30, 56-48, 70-70, 82-80.
