Colegio de San Juan de Letran survived Emilio Aguinaldo College, taking a 72-68 triumph to end its first round campaign in the NCAA Season 98 Seniors Basketball Tournament at fourth, Wednesday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
Only down by a bucket, 68-70, JP Magualiano was driving to the basket but the ball slipped out of his hands which caused the Generals an awful turnover.
Next possession, with three ticks left, Kurt Reyson knocked down two clutch free throws to seal the game, 72-68.
“Di ko alam kung magagalit ba ko o masaya kasi nanalo naman, pero EAC gave us a good game. Tough game actually. Last game namin sa first round, at least na close out namin ng maayos,” said Knights head coach Bonnie Tan.
Letran opened the gates hot, ending the first period with a 10-point, 28-18. The lead ballooned by as much as 13 following a Fran Yu triple, 43-30, with under two minutes left in the second period.
EAC however, sparked a 15-2 rally to be eventually back in the ball game and tied it at 45-all.
King Caralipio led the Knights with 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting together with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block; while Brent Paraiso added 15 markers, nine boards, two dimes and a block.
Kurt Reyson meanwhile scored all of his points in the second half with 13.
For EAC, Allen Liwag had a game-high 20 points, seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block. Adam Doria had 16 points in 17-minutes of action.
Ralph Robin, King Gurtiza, and Joshua Tolentino sat out on this one.
The Knights ended the first round with a 6-3 win-loss record while the Generals are now 0-8.
The Scores:
Letran 72 — Caralipio 16, Paraiso 15, Reyson 13, Yu 7, Monje 6, Javillonar 5, Santos 4, Sangalang 2, Olivario 2, Go 2, Bautista 0, Guarino 0.
EAC 68 — Liwag 20, Ad. Doria 16, Balowa 15, Bajon 6, Maguliano 6, Cosejo 4, Angeles 1, Luciano 0, Quinal 0, An. Doria 0, Umpad 0, Bacud 0, Dominguez 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18, 43-37, 58-54, 72-68.
