 |
| Dennis Jerome Acosta |
By Ivan Saldajeno
SAN JUAN, MM--Kevin Racal posted his best game in his comeback NCAA season, and Letran went on to a 77-68 victory over Arellano in the nightcap of a Friday seniors triple-header at the FilOil Flying V Arena.
Racal, who returned from an ACL injury, made 24 points, five rebounds, and two assists, while Mark Cruz once again proved he can deliver in the clutch for the Knights to hold off the Chiefs.
Letran threatened to pull away in the third quarter as Racal helped open a 14-point cushion, 62-48, at the end of the period.
But Zach Nicholls scored big triples and led Arellano's fight back that trimmed the gap to three, 71-68, with a little more than two minutes left.
Cruz, however, answered with a three-pointer of his own that turned out to be the dagger as the Knights scored the last six points of the match.
Rey Nambatac added a double-double for the Knights as he tallied 13 markers and ten boards along with two steals.
Cruz, on the other hand, only went 2-of-17 from the field the entire game, but his last made shot was the pivotal one for Letran.
Nicholls made 14 points, but he only converted four of 14 treys as he and the Chiefs saw their four-game winning streak coming to an end.
Box Scores:
Letran 77-Racal 24, Nambatac 13, Sollano 12, Cruz 9, Luib 5, Apreku 4, Balanza 4, Publico 4, Quinto 2, Calvo 0
Arellano 68-Nicholls 14, Cadavis 12, Jalalon 10, Holts 10, Enriquez 8, Salado 5, Gumaru 5, Bangga 4, Ortega 0, Tano 0, Ongolo 0, Zamora 0
Quarterscores: 21-16, 42-32, 62-48, 77-68
.JPG)
.jpg)
