LETRAN tightened its grip on Group B’s third seed after fending off Emilio Aguinaldo College, 82-73, at Playtime Filoil Centre on Sunday.
The Knights improved to a 7-5 record in the NCAA Season 101 men's basketball tournament, all while dealing the Generals their third straight loss and seventh overall in 11 games.
“We’re trying to get better going to the playoffs kasi malapit na ‘yon. May isa pa kaming game, pero we’re just trying to get better,” coach Allen Ricardo said.
“Nag-start lahat ‘to sa practice. Lahat sila hard worker sa ensayo, so I give credit to them kasi sinusuklian nila ‘yong binibigay ko sa kanilang opportunities,” he added.
EAC led by two, 67-65, at the 6:14 mark of the fourth quarter before Chad Gammad’s triple sparked a 13-3 Letran run to put the Knights up by eight, 78-70, with 1:29 left in the game.
Jude Bagay split his free throws for the Generals after being fouled in the 1:20 mark of the payoff period, leaving the door slightly open for them.
Jun Roque, however, would find an open lane on the fastbreak for a dagger in the form of a throwdown to effectively keep EAC at bay, 80-71, with roughly 67 seconds left in the fourth.
Roque spearheaded the Knights' offense with 15 points, while Gammad finished with 11. The duo of Deo Cuajao and Kevin Santos also dropped 10 markers each in the win.
The Generals remained at the bottom of the pack with a 4-7 record, but not without the efforts of EJ Castillo who finished with a game-high 23 points.
The Scores:
LETRAN 82 - Roque 15, Gammad 11, Cuajao 10, Santos 10, Manalili 9, Estrada 9, Omega 9, Montecillo 7, Gazzingan 2, Buensalida 0, Tapenio 0
EAC 73 - Castillo 23, Bagay 13, Lucero 12, Shanoda 7, Angeles 5, Omandac 4, Loristo 4, Oftana 3, Quinal 2, Ochavo 0
Quarters: 11-19, 38-37, 59-63, 82-73
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
