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| Jonathan Manalili delivered another masterful floor general game for Letran. NCAA |
MANILA––Letran withstood a gallant stand from Perpetual Help in the second half to inch closer to a return to the NCAA men's basketball finals with a 77-73 win at the start of the semifinals on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Up by as much as 19 points in the first half, the Knights, who needed to overcome the Arellano Chiefs' twice-to-beat advantage to enter the Final Four, suddenly found themselves in trouble of blowing the game to the Altas, Group A's top seed, as Patrick Sleat and John Abis stepped to help bring them to within four, 71-75, with 1:26 to go.
However, Shawn Orgo committed a crucial turnover when a bad inbound pass led to a backcourt violation, giving the ball back to Letran with 30.6 seconds remaining.
Knowing that Perpetual Help only committed one foul in the fourth before the turnover, Letran was able to milk the clock while Perpetual Help had to use their remaining fouls to stop the clock.
Jimboy Estrada iced the game after going 2-for-2 from the free-throw line with 13.6 seconds left.
Estrada and Jonathan Manalili each scored 15 points for the Knights, now 3-0 overall in the playoffs, and can eliminate the Altas in Game 2 on Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Sleat finished with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, four rebounds, and four assists, while Abis had a career-high 20 points on 9-of-14 field goals, nine rebounds, two assists, and three steals for Perpetual Help, which now needs to win Game 2 if it wants to bring the best-of-three series back to "The Big Dome" for the rubber match on Sunday.
The scores:
LETRAN 77 – Manalili 15, Estrada 15, Gammad 11, Cuajao 9, Santos 6, Buensalida 6, Omega 6, Roque 5, Tapenio 2, Montecillo 2
PERPETUAL HELP 73 РSleat 21, Abis 20, Boral 11, Gojo Cruz 10, Tulabut 3, Alcantara 3, Duremdes 2, Gelsano 2, Nu̱ez 1, Orgo 0, Casinilio 0, Maglupay 0
Quarterscores: 26-22, 50-36, 64-56, 77-73
