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| Chad Gammad fired 21 points to lead Letran past red-hot JRU. NCAA |
SAN JUAN, MM—Letran survived Jose Rizal University by the skin of its teeth 70-66 in the NCAA Season 102 men’s basketball tournament at FilOil Centre on Thursday.
The Knights, who were without key cog Titing Manalili, put an end to the Heavy Bombers’ four-game winning streak to improve to a 5-3 record in Group B.
“Sa’min naman, ‘di namin ginawang reason ‘yong wala si Jonathan (Manalili), nagstep-up ‘yong mga kasama namin, lahat, kahit ‘yong [mga] nasa bench,” Aaron Buensalida said, citing the squad’s problem of missing their star playmaker due to a knee sprain.
“‘Yong key point dito aside sa offense namin ay ‘yong defense namin. ‘Yon ‘yong pinakabunga ng game na ‘to para manalo.”
JRU held a slim one-point lead over the Knights in the payoff period, 58-57, before Letran went on a pivotal 6-1 blitz capped off by a Denzil Walker short stab to gave his squad a 64-58 lead with 5:31 left in the game.
The Heavy Bombers got to within sniping distance late in the game, cutting their deficit to two, 67-65, after a Jay Garupil bucket at the 3:03 mark of the period.
The breaks of the game, however, fully went Letran’s way.
Nat Montecillo split his free-throw line trip to give the Knights a 68-65 lead with 17 ticks to go.
JRU went to Chris Hubilla for the game-tying trifecta with roughly a second left in the game but to no avail as the Bombers tripped to 6-2 in Group A.
Chad Gammad top scored for Letran with 21 points built on four buckets from beyond the arc. Walker scored 11 while Kevin Santos turned in 10 markers in the win.
Mangubat finished just two rebounds shy of a double-double with 18 points and eight boards in the defeat. Sean Salvador also chipped in 11 markers for JRU.
The scores:
Letran 70 - Gammad 21, Walker 11, Santos 10, Buensalida 8, Montecillo 8, Cargo 5, Reyes 3, Estrada 2, Hugo 2, Villanueva 0
JRU 66 - Mangubat 18, Salvador 11, Garupil 8, Panapanaan 6, Hubilla 5, Eligado 4, Penaverde 3, Duque 3, Garcia 2, Palis 2, Masiglat 2, Laurenaria 2, Herrera 0
Quarters: 20-19, 41-33, 54-52, 70-66
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