Colegio de San Juan de Letran took down College of Saint Benilde, 83-72, to clinch its second straight win in the NCAA Season 102 Seniors Basketball Tournament on Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Coming off a 70-66 victory over José Rizal University last Thursday, the Knights improved to 6-3 in Group B to close out the crossover round on a high note.
Despite the continued absence of star guard Titing Manalili due to a knee injury, Letran capped its final two games of the crossover round with statement victories over two of Group A’s top teams.
“Satisfied ako right now. But syempre, there’s always room for improvement. There are four teams before we go to the quarterfinals; we’re trying to build momentum going into the playoffs,” said head coach Allen Ricardo.
Led by Denzil Walker’s prolific scoring, the Knights unleashed a 17-5 run after trailing 8-7 in the first quarter.
Letran sustained its momentum in the second period, taking a 48-35 lead into halftime. Chad Gammad and Aaron Buensalida combined for 18 of the Knights’ 24 points in the quarter.
The Knights continued their stellar shooting in the third quarter, breaking the game wide open and stretching their lead to 19 points. Nathaniel Montecillo capped the period with a buzzer-beating three-pointer to give Letran a commanding advantage heading into the final frame.
Despite Kevin Santos’ ejection following his two-handed dunk midway through the fourth quarter, Benilde’s late-game rally proved too little, too late, as the Knights had already built a 24-point lead.
“I just feel like today, we were everywhere on defense, like really giving them problems,” said Walker.
“They had a lot of turnovers, so we were just capitalizing on that. We got really good transition players, so we were just making them pay for it.”
Walker led all scorers with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Justin Cargo and Buensalida chipped in 13 points apiece, while Santos added 10.
Letran will look to extend its winning streak against winless San Sebastian College-Recoletos on Friday, October 23, at 3:00 p.m. at the same venue as the final round of eliminations gets underway.
Benilde, meanwhile, dropped to 6-3 in Group A after suffering back-to-back losses.
Jhommel Ancheta and SJ Moore tallied 12 points apiece in the losing effort.
The Blazers face another tough test to open the final round, taking on Mapúa University, which is riding a six-game winning streak, on Monday, October 26, at 3:00 p.m. at the same venue.
The Scores:
Letran 83 – Walker 21, Cargo 13, Buensalida 13, Santos 10, Gammad 9, Montecillo 7, Estrada 5, Hugo 4, Reyes 1, Muyuela 0, Diamante 0, Borrero 0, Villanueva 0.
Benilde 72 – Ancheta 12, Moore 12, Podador 9, Jucom 7, Sanchez 6, Gonzaga 6, Torres 4, Galas 4, Baliquig 3, Arciaga 2, Celis 2, Morales 2, Lorenzo 2, Cajucom 1.
Quarterscores: 24-13, 48-35, 67-48, 83-72.
