DON’T look now, cause here come the Knights.
Letran started off firing from all cylinders before having just enough gas in the end game to give Perpetual its first loss in the NCAA Season 101 63-56 Wednesday at the Playtime Filoil Center.
Jimboy Estrada made the most of his damage in the first half to help the Knights some separation before Deo Cuajao hit some big shots for Letran in the second half as they claimed their second straight win after a horror 0-3 start to the season.
"Number one yung health issues. Nakakabalik na yung mga bata, 100 percent na sila. Siyempre for the past three games, nakikita natin yung mga downside ng mga plays namin from what went good to what went wrong. So we tried to improve that," Letran head coach Allen Ricardo said.
"Nakikita ko na yun. From EAC and then going to this game nagkakaron na ng maturity. Naklikita na natin yung identity nila nagkakaron na sila ng pangil maglaro."
With Estrada aggressive early on, the Knights opened a 14-point lead in the first half - taking a 30-16 lead just before the interval.
But the Altas weren't about to just roll over and die. Patrick Sleat led a third quarter fight back for Perpetual, cutting the Letran lead to two, 39-37 but Cuajao scored eight points to close out the third period to give the Knights some breathing room entering the fourth.
Cuajao's biggest shot, though, came late in the fourth quarter.
With the momentum shifting towards the Altas' end and Letran holding on by a thread, 54-53, Cuajao hit a big three pointer with a defender on his face to give the Knights a four-point lead with 3:25 to go and quell Perpetual's last ditch stand for a comeback.
Estrada fired 17 of his game-high 23 points in the first half to go along eight boards, three assists and three steals while Cuajao did most of his damage in the second half - firing 14 of his 16 in that stretch with all four of his threes also coming in the final two quarters.
Titing Manalili struggled heavily from the field as he missed all nine shots but he still quarterbacked his team well, fishing out 10 assists to go along two steals.
Sleat paced the Altas with 16 points and five assists, Mark Gojo Cruz added 10 while John Abis finished with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the now 4-1 Perpetual Help.
The scores:
LETRAN 63 – Estrada 23, Cuajao 16, Omega 5, Manalili 4, Santos 4, Gammad 4, Tapenio 3, Buensalida 2, Rosilio 2, Gazzingan 0
PERPETUAL 56 – Sleat 16, Gojo Cruz 10, Abis 9, Orgo 6, Casinilio 6, Nuñez 5, Boral 2, Duremdes 2, Tulabut 0, Alcantara 0, Maglupay 0, Pagulayan 0
Quarters: 18-10, 32-20, 50-45, 63-56
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