Coming off two close losses to league-leaders San Beda and Lyceum, the Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights vented their ire on the skidding Mapua University Cardinals, 84-62, Tuesday afternoon at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
“At least na-address na namin yung mistakes namin the last two games, na-correct na namin. Happy ako that we came out with a convincing win. Pero hindi kami puwede mag-relax, ganun pa rin – continue correcting ourselves,” said third-year Knights head coach Jeff Napa.
“Lahat ng pain na nakuha namin sa nakaraang game namin, dinala namin sa practices namin. Sabi ni coach Jeff, babalik kami sa second round,” added Bong Quinto.
The Knights are now 5-3 in the standings, forcing a tie with the CSB Blazers. Mapua, on the other hand, dropped their fifth straight game to end the first round of the NCAA Seniors Basketball Tournament with a 2-7 record.
Quinto, who took both losses hard, had an all-around game with 12 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.
The last triple-double in the Grand Old League was back in October 6, 2015. Jio Jalalon accomplished the feat with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
“Nakita ko strength ng big man namin. Sobrang suwerte namin na may [Larry] Muyang, [Christian] Fajarito, [Jeo] Ambohot, at [Christian] Balagasay kami,” shared Quinto.
Muyang had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Fajarito added 10 points and nine rebounds. Ambohot gobbled down 13 boards to go along with seven points.
Right from the get-go, Letran pounded Mapua, leading by 10 points in the opening frame alone. The Knights would lead by as much as 26 points, 59-33, with 3:57 left in the third frame.
JP Calvo led the Knights in the scoring department with 20 points, while Bonbon Batiller chipped in 11 markers.
Letran greatly out-rebounded Mapua, 67-35.
Arvin Gamboa was the sole double-digit scorer for Mapua with 13 markers.
Letran end the round against the EAC Generals on Friday, August 24.
The Scores:
CSJL 84 – Calvo 20, Muyang 15, Quinto 12, Batiller 11, Fajarito 10, Ambohot 7, Yu 3, Balagasay 2, Agbong 2, Taladua 2, Balanza 0, Celis 0, Mandreza 0, Galvelo 0, Banez 0
MU 63 – Gamboa 13, Bonifacio 9, Bunag 9, Victoria 6, Pajarillo 6, Pelayo 5, Lugo 4, Aguirre 4, Jabel 3, Salenga 2, Garcia 2, Biteng 0, Serrano 0
Quarterscores: 23-13, 42-25, 63-39, 84-63
