LIFE without Titing Manalili remains hard.
But somehow, Letran is finding a way to survive.
The Knights hacked out a tough 70-66 victory vs. fancied Jose Rizal University on Thursday at Playtime Filoil Centre in San Juan to get back to their winning ways this NCAA Season 102.
Chad Gammad's hot hands kept the Muralla side afloat, as he shot four triples to wind up with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists.
But it was defense which pulled his one through, with Aaron Buensalida forcing Stephen Garupil to turn the ball over in the final minute and all of Letran playing stingy defense in the waning moments to force Heavy Bombers' lead guard Lawrence Mangubat to give the ball up to Chris Hubilla for the potential game-tying trey.
Denzil Sison-Walker added 11 points, three boards, and three assists; Kevin Santos got 10 points and two rebounds; and Buensalida chimed in eight points, four boards, and two assists.
No more backcourt blues for Letran?
Still, this game wouldn't have been won if not for the guards, as they picked up the slack in this second game without the injured Manalili, with Nat Montecillo stepping up and draining a crucial freebie late to notch eight points, four rebounds, and four assists.
"I'm happy kasi nakikita ko na kahit wala si Jonathan, nakaka-execute na yung guards namin," said coach Allen Ricardo after Letran won two of its last three to rise to a 5-3 record.
"We need this win. We're taking it one game at a time and we need these wins to peak at the right time."
The Knights, however, had to sweat it out after building an early 14-point lead, losing hold of that, as JRU got to within two, 67-65, in the last 2:53 after a Garupil bucket.
That was when things took a turn for Letran, which clamped down on defense and kept Mangubat and Co. in check until the final buzzer.
This loss snapped the Heavy Bombers' four-game win run and dropped them to to 6-2.
Mangubat nonetheless paced JRU with 18 points on 6-of-19 clip from the field, on top of eight rebounds, as Sean Salvador had 11 points and four assists in a game where they struggled with foul trouble all game long.
The Scores:
LETRAN 70 - Gammad 21, Sison-Walker 11, Santos 10, Montecillo 8, Buensalida 8, Cargo 5, Reyes 3, Estrada 2, Hugo 2, Villanueva 0.
JRU 66 - Mangubat 18, Salvador 11, Garupil 8, Panapanaan 6, Hubilla 5, Eligado 4, Duque 3, Peñaverde 3, Garcia 2, Palis 2, Masiglat 2, Laurenaria 2, Herrera 0.
Quarters: 20-19, 41-33, 54-52, 70-66.
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.
