ELIMINATIONS for NCAA Season 101 may have been finishing up, but Letran had one more agenda before prepping for the postseason.
That, of course, was evening the odds with their top-seeded rival, San Beda.
In their second bout of the season, which was rescheduled due to supertyphoon Uwan, the Knights showcased both poise and grit off of their star playmaker Titing Manalili, who traded career highs with fellow super rookie Janti Miller.
Manalili hammered home 26 points and 11 rebounds, opposite Miller who went nuclear anew with 34 markers of his own in the absence of veteran Red Lions Bryan Sajonia and Jomel Puno.
But while the ever-sensational Miller won the scoring battle, Manalili and Letran went home with the 87-83 victory, getting retribution for their first round loss.
“Matalo na sa lahat, wag lang sa San Beda,” Manalili exclaimed. “Bago kami pumunta sa court, sabi ko sa sarili ko na hindi pwedeng matalo kami ulit.”
According to Knights head coach Allen Ricardo, their lead guard was expected to be suppressed heading into the rivalry game, which made it all the more impressive that he still managed to deliver the goods.
“Ni-ready namin siya sa sitwasyon na siyempre pipisikalin siya, tatanggalin sa kanya yung bola. So siyempre, kailangang tulungan namin siya to find ways how to execute, especially on the offensive end.”
Letran charges ahead
With Letran ending the elims on a high, its eyes have now been trained upon Arellano, whom it will have to beat twice in the crossover quarterfinals.
For Manalili, dueling once more with T-Mc Ongotan will for sure lead to another must-see matchup.
“Siyempre kaya T-Mc, alam naman natin ano siya gumalaw. Talagang heavy points palagi sa game. Balikan namin sa ensayo, may two days pa ata na mag-prepare kami para sa defense,“ he said.
“Sabi ko naman sa team, sabi din ni coach Allen sa team, bigay na natin lahat.”
Ricardo, meanwhile, hopes to build on the momentum they got from these back-to-back wins to finish the preliminaries.
As he put it, “Siyempre, for us, it's no more tomorrow for Letran. So talagang hindi kami pwede magtitipid dun. So possession per possession, start of the quarter pa lang, kailangan makakuha kami ng momentum.”
Indeed, with the Chiefs having the playoff edge, even the slightest blunder can spell an untimely exit for Letran.
So with Ricardo allowing zero complacency and Manalili’s composure still unyielding, it's safe to say that these Knights will enter the fight for their season lives ready and raring.
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