by Waylon Galvez
Letran put on a solid defensive effort and hacked out a 55-43 win over Jose Rizal University in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament yesterday at The Arena in San Juan City.
A semifinalist in last year’s NCAA, the Knights limited their opponent to nearly 30 percent shooting from the field –16-of-57 – thanks to their transition plays on the defensive end.
That also gave the Knights a 44-29 advantage in rebounds.
Still, Letran coach Bonnie Tan was hardly pleased as the Knights turned the ball 24 times.
“Our defense was not bad, but we continue to struggle with our errors. We’re not able to get what we want and that is to lessen the errors. So we have to correct our mistakes,” said Tan, whose team’s next game is against University of Perpetual Help on Friday.
The win was Letran’s second straight since dropping an 84-80 decision to Lyceum in the match dubbed as Battle of Intramuros.
In juniors’ action, the Light Bombers downed the Squires, 85-69, while the San Sebastian Staglets defeated the defending champion Mapua Red Robins, 64-62.
LETRAN 55 – Batiller 14, Ular 8, Javillonar 7, Balanza 6, Muyang 5, Mina 5, Yu 3, Ambohot 2, Olivario 2, Pambid 2, Balagasay 1, Caralipio 0, Reyson 0, Sangalang 0.
JRU 43 – Dela Rosa 14, Dela Virgen 7, Dionisio 6, Amores 6, Delos Santos 4, Aguilar 3, Jungco 2, Steinl 0, Vasquez 0, Abaoag 0, Arenal 0.
Quarters: 11-6; 30-17; 41-33; 55-43.
