Colegio de San Juan de Letran escaped San Beda-Rizal, pulling off a gritty 63-61 victory to stay unbeaten in Group B of the NCAA Season 101 Juniors Basketball Tournament, Sunday at the Filoil Centre.
It was a true test of character for Andrew Estrella’s squad, with many of the Squires experiencing their first taste of the storied rivalry.
And when the game hung in the balance, the Squires delivered.
Down 55-50, Earl Dahino sparked the comeback, cleaning up an Ethan Egea miss to ignite an 8-0 run. Alvin Villanueva and Mico Pascual also chipped in during the crucial stretch to swing momentum in Letran’s favor.
With six seconds left, Andrei Ugaddan drained a corner three to cut the lead to 62-61, giving the Red Cubs one last push.
However, San Beda wasted valuable time before fouling Pascual with only two ticks remaining. Pascual calmly split his free throws, and the Red Cubs failed to get a final shot off, sealing the Squires’ hard-fought win.
Egea, a former UPIS standout, led Letran with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Villanueva contributed nine points and four boards, while Pascual made his mark at the stripe, scoring five of his seven points there. Dahino (6 points), Justin Cargo (6 points and 6 rebounds), and Travis Pascual (5 points and 6 rebounds) also stepped up in the grind-it-out affair.
Ugaddan, the Isabela-raised wunderkind, carried San Beda with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Martin Mejia and Adiam Larosa added 12 points each, but it wasn’t enough as the Red Cubs slipped to 0-2.
Earlier, defending champion University of Perpetual Help DALTA improved to 2-0 in Group A after outlasting Lyceum of the Philippines University-Cavite, 70-62.
Arkin Critobal powered the Junior Altas with 15 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, while NCAA Season 100 holdover Jim Corpuz posted a double-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
It was a balanced effort for Joph Cleopas’ squad, with 11 of his 16 players hitting the scoring column. Despite shooting just 27.6-percent from the field, the Junior Altas knocked down 10 triples against the Junior Pirates’ three and converted 27 forced turnovers into 16 points.
The Junior Pirates, who stunned Malayan Red Robins on opening day, 74-66, were paced by Steven Creus’ 18 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting along with 10 rebounds. Khian Panerio chipped in 10 markers in the loss.
