LETRAN showcased its roster depth as the Knights stayed within striking distance of the NCAA leaders.
With leaders Bong Quinto and JP Calvo having off-days, Letran turned to its shock troopers as Koy Galvelo, Jeremiah Taladua and Fran Yu led the Knights to a 91-82 victory over EAC on Tuesday.
"Confident ako na may mag-step up sa team na ito. Luckily, itong tatlo, pagbunot ko sa kanila instant offense," the outspoken mentor said.
The trio led the team in scoring to keep the Muralla squad's stranglehold of the third spot at 9-4.
Galvelo kicked off the super sub party, uncorking 12 of his career-best 15 points in the first half as he shot 3-of-6 from downtown in 13 minutes of action.
It's the longest playing time the rookie has had after largely sitting out the first round following a "ligang labas" controversy.
"Matagal ko rin hinintay," admitted Galvelo, who finally had the chance to strut his stuff after languishing at the end of the Letran bench and playing only 12 minutes prior to this game.
Despite the limited time he's had all season, the rookie knows how big his responsibility is everytime Napa calls his number.
"As a rookie, syempre kailangan mag-step up. Tapos yun nga, sa pagkawala ni Jerrick (Balanza) kailangan talaga ng suporta. Yung mga teammate ko, sinasabi na kailangan talaga namin tumulong," the surprise starter said.
Taladua sustained that tear in the second half as the transferee from Lyceum was all over the court to notch 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
But for him, it all starts on defense, just like how Napa likes it.
"Sa akin, sinasabi lagi ni coach na defense. Darating na lang yung score sa akin kasi doon talaga sa depensa naggagaling yung score," he said after posting his best offensive game after netting an average of 1.9 points for the tournament.
"Siguro ngayon, dumating sa akin yung defense. Kinailangan ko din mag-step up talaga kasi yung dalawang leader, si Toto at si Bong, medyo off."
Taladua led the gung-ho Letran crew in limiting EAC — the league's best rebounding team — to just 36 boards, before doing his damage anew in the end game to seal off the win.
Yu also had his share, triggering a personal 8-0 burst to start the fourth quarter that pushed the Knights' lead to as high as 19 points, 75-56.
And for the transferee from UE, who also studied at Traill International School in Thailand for a year, it was just a matter of him repaying Napa’s faith.
"Nag-thank you ako kay coach Jeff kasi binigyan niya pa rin kami ng kumpyansa. Sinusuklian lang namin yung binibigay niya sa amin," said Yu, who is averaging 2.3 points prior to this breakout.
As gratifying as the sight of these subs stepping up, Napa hopes that this performance from the three won't be just a flash in the pan knowing that all players in his roster has the ability to take charge when given the chance.
"Talagang hinihintay ko lang kung kailan sila magde-deliver. Lagi ko naman nire-remind sa kanila talaga na the offense will come, but yung defense is very important sa amin, especially coming sa stretch na ito. The defense matters talaga sa amin," he said.
"Ang wish ko lang sana magtuloy-tuloy kami, maging consistent, hindi lang sa larong ito, para at least maging maganda yung approach namin papunta sa gusto naming puntahan."
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