Colegio de San Juan de Letran overtook College of St. Benilde for the top spot of NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament after a 74-66 victory on Saturday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
The Knights are waxing hot and are currently on an eight-game winning streak.
With 53.4 seconds left in the game, Kurt Reyson gave Letran the lead, 65-63, following a 5-0 spurt capped by a three-point basket plus the foul. This, after trailing by as much as three, 60-63, in the said quarter.
Louie Sangaland dropped the hammer on the Blazers with 28.7 ticks with an and-one play over JC Cullar to boost the Knights’ lead, 68-63.
And to put the nail in the coffin, Brent Paraiso rejected a three-point shot from Robi Nayve right at the 23.4-second mark.
“Again, ‘yung mga scored points din nung last part, it’s more on sa mga transition points naman ‘yun. It’s not that close,” said Knights head coach Bonnie Tan.
He added, “So, again, it’s all about ‘yung sa team ‘yung composure nila because of ‘yung experience nila na how to close out games. And ‘yun ‘yung nakita kong factor na naka-convert ng last few points namin sa fourth quarter.”
It was an intense back-and-forth game all throughout the contest, with St. Benilde leading by a point, 51-50 after three quarters.
They were able to extend the margin to three, 63-60 after a highlight play from Cullar spinning around before making the tough layup.
Sangalang showed up big time with a game-high 21 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks. Kurt Reyson finished with 14 points off a few clutch baskets, alongside five boards, two dimes, and two steals.
Fran Yu showcased on-court wizardry with 10 assists and five markers.
For the Blazers, Miguel Corteza had 14 points and three rebounds. Will Gozum had a double-double of 12 markers and 13 boards, while Jimboy Pasturan and Cullar had 11 and 10 apiece.
Letran improved to 11-3, while CSB dropped to a 9-3 win-loss card
The Knights will have one week break and will next face Emilio Aguinaldo College at 12:00 NN. Meanwhile, the Blazers will look to bounce back against Jose Rizal University on Tuesday at 3:00 PM.
The Scores:
Letran 74 –– Sangalang 21, Reyson 16, Go 9, Javillonar 8, Paraiso 7, Yu 5, Caralipio 4, Olivario 2, Monje 2, Tolentino 2, Santos 0.
St. Benilde 66 — Corteza 14, Gozum 12, Pasturan 11, Cullar 10, Nayve 8, Oczon 4, Lepalam 3, Sangco 2, Carlos 2, Marcos 0, Flores 0, Sumabat 0, Dimayuga 0.
Quarterscores: 20-19, 41-36, 50-51, 74-66.
