Games Tomorrow
(Mapua gym, Intramuros)
2 p.m. – Mapua vs Perpetual (Jrs)
4 p.m. – Mapua vs Perpetual (Srs)
Letran recovered from a listless start and beat Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-80 for first win while reigning champion San Beda College got back in the winning track in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan City.
After erasing a 26-9 deficit in the first quarter and taking the initiative, the Knights looked headed for a big finish when they took an 80-72 lead.
But the Generals refused to roll over and die as they pulled to within 80-78 on back-to-back triples by Jerome Garcia.
They even had the chance to send the game into overtime but Jethro Mendoza missed a potential game-tying three as time expired – no thanks to the pressure defense of Letran’s Jerrick Balanza.
Putting behind a stinging 96-91 loss to the Lyceum Pirates last week, the Red Lions used a blistering second quarter onslaught to rip the game wide apart and improve to 2-1.
Javee Mocon tallied 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Robert Bolick finished with nine points, 11 boards, six assists and two steals for San Beda.
St. Benilde slipped to 1-2.
Jeo Ambohot, a 6-foot-6 Compostela Valley native, led the Knights with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Rey Nambatac and Bong Quinto chipped in 14 points each apart from combining for 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
Jeremiah Taladua also stepped up for Letran particularly in the second quarter, where he poured all 14 his points that enabled them get back into the game.
“It was a wake-up call din sa amin ’yung last huddle. Nag-commit sila na gumawa ng tama,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa.
Later in the day, Kent Salado scored on a floater with 0.3 ticks left as Arellano beat Jose Rizal University, 73-72, in overtime.
