LETRAN is the top seed out of the NCAA Group in the Playtime Cares Filoil EcoOil 18th Preseason Cup presented by ABC Tile Adhesive, even as Benilde came away with a win of its own, Thursday at the Playtime Cares Filoil Centre in San Juan.
The Knights weathered a late storm brought by archrival San Beda for a 75-68 win that was their sixth in a row and eighth overall out of nine games.
Jimboy Estrada waxed hot with 25 points from perfect 11-of-11 shooting in two-pointers, while running mate Titing Manalili had 15 markers, seven assists, and two steals.
When the Red Lions were rallying to as close as three, 66-69, inside the last two minutes, however, it was Peter Rosillo and Mark Omega who got back-to-back makes to re-increase the Letran lead to seven, 73-66, with 37.9 ticks to go.
After another defensive stop, Estrada iced the game for good with a couple of charities.
"Ang mahalaga sa'min, get as much experience as we can, get as many wins as we can, para madala namin sa NCAA," said head coach Allen Ricardo, as they ended the eliminations at 8-1.
Benilde on a roll of its own
The Blazers finished with the same standing after piling onto the woes of Lyceum, 100-93.
By virtue of the Knights' head-to-head victory vs. Benilde, however, they are the NCAA Group's No. 1 set to face UAAP fourth seed National U on Friday in the crossover quarterfinals of the tilt which has PlayTime Cares, Filoil, EcoOil, Hanes, Bostik El Heneral, Jiang Nan Hotpot, Lamtex Pipes, Smart, and Puso Pilipinas as major sponsors, and Harbor Star, Wallem, Akari, BDO, Tela.com Athletics, Nature’s Spring, Reyes Barbecue, and Brothers Burger as minor sponsors.
The Pirates were actually pushing the Blazers to the limit and had a one-point edge, 67-66, at the midway mark of the third quarter.
It was at that point, however, that Matthew Oli caught fire and scored eight points in Benilde's 15-4 blast for an 81-71 lead late in the third period. They would not let go of the momentum all the way to a third consecutive victory.
In the end, Oli had 15 points, Gab Cometa dropped 15 markers of his own, and Raffy Celis made his presence felt all over with 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
"Raffy does a lot of things for us and he's making the most of his extended playing time with Justine out," said head coach Charles Tiu, as the versatile Cebuano has ably filled in for injured starter Justine Sanchez.
The Blazers, seeded second out of the NCAA Group, now set their sights on UAAP No. 3 University of the Philippines.
Renz Villegas and JM Bravo showed the way for Lyceum with 17 and 15 points, respectively. They close their campaign with a 1-7 record.
San Beda, meantime, bows out at 4-5 even after Jomel Puno's 17-point, five-rebound showing.
The Scores:
First Game
BENILDE 100 - Cometa 15, Oli 15, Celis 12, Ynot 10, Daja 10, Eusebio 10, Ancheta 9, Morales 7, Gaspay 4, Galas 4, Gonzaga 2, Jalalon 2, Victoria 0, Umali 0
LYCEUM 93 - Villegas 17, Bravo 15, Moralejo 9, Fuentes 8, Aviles 7, Barba 6, Casino 6, Penafiel 6, Versoza 5, Daileg 5, Almario 4, Aurigue 3, Caduyac 2, Panelo 0, Montano 0
Quarters: 30-28, 53-54, 81-73, 100-93
Second Game
LETRAN 75 - Estrada 24, Manalili 15, Roque 11, Cuajao 8, Tapenio 6, Rosillo 4, Gammad 3, Buensalida 2, Omega 2, Santos 0, Yusi 0
SAN BEDA 66 - Puno 17, Andrada 12, Gonzales 12, Lina 11, Vailoces 5, Etulle 4, Tolentino 3, Culdora 2, Jamora 2, Estacio 0, Jalbuena 0, Hawkins 0, Celzo 0
Quarters: 25-14, 40-40, 63-51, 75-68
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