The Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights stay alive!
The defending NCAA champions were able to keep the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas, 69-63, to stay alive in the Final Four race of the NCAA Season 92 Seniors Basketball Tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
The win keeps Letran a full game behind fifth place JRU while 1.5 games behind Mapua for a Final Four seat.
“Good win for us pero wala pa kaming na-aachieve, naghahabol pa rin kami pero hindi na namin iniisip yan,” Letran head coach Jeff Napa said about Letran’s third straight win. “Ang iniisip namin yung how we perform sa mga kalaban namin. Good thing yung mga bata willing to accept yung challenge.”
Rey Nambatac led the Knights with 26 points on 9-of-21 shooting. The Letran senior grabbed seven rebounds as well.
“Masaya kasi naging consistent ako, hindi lang sa offense, pero kung paano ko rin ini-involve ang mga kasama ko,” the Cagayan de Oro-native said.
Going down by as much as 15 points in the game, the Altas were able to gain striking distance in the third frame behind the duo of Gab Dagangon and AJ Coronel.
However, the Altas had a tough time breaking through. Eventually, Perpetual was able to cut the lead to a solitary point after a 5-0 run with points coming from Flash Sadiwa and Bright Akhuetie with 1:52 left.
A split on the stripe by Nambatac gave Perpetual a chance to tie the game but a questionable three by Daryl Singontiko and botched layup by him afterwards continued his team’s struggle. Another split on the stripe, this time by JP Calvo kept Perpetual’s hopes up. However, back-to-back turnovers by Keith Pido and a free throw by Nambatac sealed Letran’s third straight win.
“Yun yung hinahanap namin ngayon, yung consistency,” Napa added.
Bong Quinto made up for another dismal shooting night, going 8-of-8 from the charity stripe for 12 points. Birthday boy Jerrick Balanza and Jom Sollano added 11 points each.
For Perpetual, Akhuetie was the high point man with 15 points, scoring just three points in the final frame, to go along with 13 rebounds. AJ Coronel added 12 markers.
The Letran Knights (6th, 8-7) next face the league-leading Arellano Chiefs (1st, 11-3) on Friday, September 9 at 4:00pm. On the other hand, the Perpetual Altas (3rd, 10-4) look to keep pace with San Beda and Arellano, facing the JRU Heavy Bombers (5th, 9-6) on the same day at 12:00nn.
The Scores:
CSJL (69) – Nambatac 26, Quinto 12, Sollano 11, Balanza 11, Apreku 4, Ambohot 4, Calvo 1, Bernabe 0, Balagasay 0, Sario 0, Pambid 0.
UPHSD (63) – Akhuetie 15, Coronel 12, Singontiko 8, Pido 8, Dagangon 7, Eze 6, Dizon 5, Sadiwa 2, Ylagan 0, Hao 0, Yuhico 0.
Quarterscores: 13-13, 39-24, 54-47, 69-67
