By CARLO ANOLIN
Letran exacted sweet revenge over Arellano as the streaking Knights hacked out a 65-53 win in the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament Friday, Oct. 21, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City.
This time, the Knights made sure to assert their dominance and finish stronger as King Caralipio, Fran Yu, and Brent Paraiso took charge despite the Chiefs showing resistance the entirety of the game.
It was a different tale from its 72-69 upset loss in the first round on Sept. 18 as Letran unloaded a huge 17-6 run bridging the third and payoff period for its fifth straight win and 8th overall in 11 games, tying idle Lyceum for 2nd to third places.
The Knights pulled away for good and never looked back at that point as the trio of Caralipio, Yu, and Paraiso connived down the stretch to put the nail in the coffin and sent the Chiefs reeling to their third straight loss.
Caralipio showed his might inside the paint and had a double-double performance of 13 points and 13 rebounds to go with one assist and one steal.
Yu, for his part, was responsible for Letran’s unselfish basketball and chalked up 12 points built on three triples, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals while Paraiso chipped in 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the streaking Knights, who improved to an 8-3 record.
Despite Louie Sangalang having a quiet game, being limited only to six points, three assists, and one rebound, he made an impact on the defensive end and proved to be a thorn against the Chiefs with a 16 plus/minus efficiency, joining forces with Caralipio and Paolo Javillonar in the shaded area.
The Chiefs, who were trailing, for the most part, were able to put the match within striking distance in the last two minutes of the payoff period capped by a Cade Flores conversion, 55-53.
That basket, however, proved to be the last spark for Arellano as Letran not only clamped down on its defense but also went fiery on the offensive end and capped its 10-0 run until the waning seconds for the win.
Sangalang and Paraiso weren’t done with the punishment and added fuel to the fire with back-to-back conversions in the last 20 seconds, making Arellano scoreless from the 1:42 mark.
Flores was the lone bright spot for the Chiefs, who slipped to a 4-6 slate, with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists but he alone couldn’t put a stop to the Knights’ balanced attack.
The scores:
LETRAN 65 Caralipio 13, Yu 12, Paraiso 10, Reyson 8, Javillonar 7, Sangalang 6, Santos 4, Monje 2, Olivario 2, Ariar 1, Tolentino 0, Go 0, Guarino 0.
ARELLANO 53 Flores 15, Abastillas 8, Mallari 7, Doromal 6, Menina 5, Oliva 4, Oftana 3, Mantua 3, Sunga 2, Tolentino 0, Talampas 0.
Quarters: 14-15, 26-33, 43-39, 65-53.
