Letran snaps skid, sends Arellano to brink of elimination

Coming off two straight losses, Letran vented their ire on the Arellano Chiefs, taking a dominant 97-84 win in the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball Tournament, Thursday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.

The Knights rose to 10-6 in the standings, keeping solo third. They also gain a 1.5 game advantage over the San Sebastian Golden Stags.

“It’s hard to come back after losing back-to-back games. Lalo na within one week, we have three games. So not enough preparation, but that’s the challenge na ibinigay sa amin ng NCAA, yung schedule na nakuha natin,” said first-year Letran head coach Bonnie Tan.

Leading the balanced attack of the Knights was Bonbon Batiller. Batiller — whom San Beda held field goal-less last Tuesday — had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

With the General Santos native leading the way, the Knights surged in the third frame, scoring a whopping 34 points during that span. Larry Muyang also stifled Arellano, limiting them to just 17 points to gain an 80-66 lead entering the final frame.

Letran led by as much as 17 points in the contest.

Besides Batiller, five other Knights scored in double-digits. Muyang tallying 15 points and five rebounds in just 23 minutes of play. Meanwhile, Jeo Ambohot had 15 markers as well to go along with six boards.

Allen Mina went a plus-41 in the game, scoring 12 points as well. Jerrick Balanza and Fran Yu had 11 markers each as well.

“Sinabi ko lang sa mga boys na hindi lang natin gustuhin na manalo, isipin din natin na hindi tayo papayag na magpatalo. Yung desire to win,” added Tan.

Arellano fell to 4-11. A win by San Sebastian over the JRU Heavy Bombers will formally eliminate them from contention.

Justin Arana paced Arellano with 19 points but was limited to just three rebounds, while committing seven errors. Kent Salado added 18 markers.

The Scores:

CSJL (97) — Batiller 18, Muyang 15, Ambohot 15, Mina 12, Balanza 11, Yu 11, Balagasay 8, Caralipio 4, Pambid 2, Ular 1, Reyson 0.

AU (84) — Arana 19, Salado 18, Gayosa 15, Bayla 11, Oliva 11, Sablan 3, Espiritu 3, Concepcion 2, Talampas 2, Alcoriza 0, Santos 0.

Quarterscores: 28-21, 46-49, 80-66, 97-84