LETRAN had to dig down deep in taking its third straight win in the NCAA Season 101 after a hard-earned 95-93 in overtime over the still-winless Lyceum on Saturday at the Playtime Filoil Center in San Juan.
Titing Manalili posted a triple-double while five other players breached double-digits for Letran led by Kevin Santos and Jimboy Estrada, who notched double-doubles of their own, as the Knights now levelled their record to 3-3 after a horrid start to the season where they lost their first three games.
"Kailangan namin yung mga ganitong games. Not all the time lagi kang up by a big margin. It's a big lesson for us para magkaron kami ng maturity on offense and defense," Letran head coach Allen Ricardo said.
Knights Survive Close One
As impressive as the win was for the Knights, they nearly shot themselves in the foot with their turnovers and missed free throws nearly costing them the game.
Leading comfortambly at 83-77 with a little over two minutes to go in the game, the Knights kept the door wide open for a Pirate ambush -- with Manalili missing two free throws while the team collectively turned the ball over thrice in that stretch, resulting to a late-game Lyceum resurgence.
After Renz Villegas hit two free throws to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining, Manalili nearly won the game for Letran with a lay-up on the other end to push the Knights back up with six seconds to go.
Villegas, however, down the floor and scored on a floater just as time expired in regulation to force overtime.
Thankfully for the Knights, they had enough firepower in the overtime period to supress the hungry Pirates.
Aaron Buensalida came up big in overtime, scoring five points while giving the Knights plenty of extra possessions before Chad Gammad's split from the line game Letran the lead for good.
"Si Aaron high school palang yan nakitaan ko na ng potential yan e. Dami na niyang napuntahan but he decided to play for Letran. Alam ko yang batang yan may ibibigay talaga yan. It's all about pushing him hard," Ricardo said of Buensalida.
Manalili finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 15 assists and two steals to secure the first triple-double of his collegiate career, the second this season after Arellano T-Mc Ongotan pulled the same feat against, co-incidentally, the same team.
Santos also had a big game on both ends for the Knights, dropping 16 points to go along 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Estrada likewise notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.
Deo Cuajao added 14, while Gammad and Luiz Tapenio chipped in 13 apiece for the Knights.
It was another sorry loss for the Pirates who now dropped to 0-5, with three of those losses coming after the regulation.
Ato Barba led the way for the Pirates with 24 points but had two crucial turnovers late in the overtime period which proved costly. Villegas finished with 20 points and six rebounds.
The scores:
LETRAN 95 – Santos 16, Estrada 15, Cuajao 14, Manalili 13, Tapenio 13, Gammad 13, Buensalida 7, Rosilio 2, Omega 2, Gazzingan 0
LYCEUM 93 – Barba 24, Villegas 20, Peñafiel 12, Versoza 10, Casiño 9, Aviles 7, Moralejo 4, Daileg 3, Montaño 2, Fuentes 2, Dural 0, Aurigue 0
Quarter scores: 26-24, 45-43, 68-66, 85-85 (reg.), 95-93 (OT)
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.
