INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines -- San Sebastian College scored a 76-73 nipping of Letran for the Stags' sixth consecutive victory Wednesday in the NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Jason Ballesteros scored nine of his 11 points inside the final 4:50 as the Stags overhauled a 61-66 deficit to raise their record to 7-4, just two victories away from a berth in the Final Four.

"Jason loves to block shots and go for the boards," said Stags coach Jorge Gallent. "But he also scores some garbage points."

Ballesteros swatted away three shots and collared 14 rebounds but his most important basket came with 29 seconds left when he towered over two Letran defenders for a lay-up off Raymund Maconocido's pass from the baseline.

That gave the Stags a 74-71 cushion and although Froilan Saquillo turned the ball over in San Sebastian's next play, the Knights were never better themselves, blowing their chance on JP Belencion's error with five seconds left.

Though his team has yet to lock up a berth in the Final Four, the win has Stags coach Jorge Gallent entertaining thoughts of claiming one of the two twice-to-beat slots in the semifinals.

"This is a good win," said Gallent, whose team plays pacesetter Jose Rizal on Wednesday. "I think we now have a good chance of taking the 1-2 spots."

The Stags tallied just one win in their first four games and Gallent attributes his squad's transformation to the brilliance of his veterans Ballesteros, Franz Delgado and Jim Viray, who paced San Sebastian with 22 points.

After a forgetful outing against Jose Rizal, where he scored just a solitary point, RJ Jazul made 15 markers, but he missed three triples in the final period that hastened the Knights' third loss in 10 games.

The Scores

SSC 76 -- Viray 22, Ballesteros 11, Delgado 10, Raymundo 9, Maconocido 8, Saquillo 7, Bringas 5, Bulawan 3, Aquino 1, Najorda 0, Zulueta 0.

Letran 73 -- Jazul 15, Guevarra 12, Melegrito 12, Cortez 9, Cabonce 7, Belencion 3, Gutilban 2, Foronda J. 2, Del Rosario 2, Ranises 0, Latonio 0, Dangcal 0.

Quarters: 18-12, 36-35, 54-53, 76-73