JONATHAN Grey of St. Benilde goes up for a shot against Ric Gallardo of Perpetual Help in yesterday’s match. KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ
Playing with more fire and ferocity, Letran pounced on a surprisingly listless San Beda squad by hammering out a 64-53 victory last night in the 90th NCAA basketball tournament before a huge crowd at Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
On attack mode right from the start, the Knights zoomed to an early double-digit lead, before sustaining their strong play in the second half to pin only a second loss in nine games on their fierce rivals, while rising to 3-6 for a share of seventh to ninth spots.
“I’m proud of how we played today, especially against San Beda” said Letran coach Caloy Garcia. “If we play this way, we’ll have a chance of a better record in the second round.”
Despite the loss, the Red Lions still finished the first round in a share of top spot with the Arellano Chiefs.
Earlier, St. Benilde put emphasis on defense in the second half to post a 77-73 victory over Perpetual Help and forge a three-way tie for fourth spot at the end of the first round.
Scoring heavily on drives to the basket, Jonathan Grey finished with 19 points, including nine in the third period, while Luis Singco pumped in a season-high 15 for the Blazers, who collected their fifth win in nine games to pull level with the Altas and Lyceum Pirates.
The Blazers erased a double-digit third quarter deficit by shutting down the Altas’ gunners in the last two minutes while getting clutch baskets from Paolo Taha and Mark Romero.
Letran held San Beda to just 13 points in the first two quarters as Lions center Ola Adeogun sat helplessly on the bench.
Adeogun wasn’t fielded after reportedly missing three days of practice in the buildup to the game without any reason.
The scores:
First Game
ST. BENILDE 77—Grey 19, Sinco 15, Romero 13, Bartolo 12, Taha 9, Saavedra 4, Nayve 3, Ongteco 2, Mercado 0, Deles 0, Altamirano 0.
PERPETUAL HELP 73—Baloria 22, Thompson 20, Arboleda 12, Alano 11, Bantayan 3, Jolangcob 3, Gallardo 2, Dizon 0, Ylagan 0, Lucente 0, Pido 0.
Quarters: 11-14, 37-31, 58-63, 77-73
Second Game
LETRAN 64—Cruz 17, Nambatac 9, Gabawan 9, Publico 7, Ruaya 6, Tambeling 6, Singontiko 5, Dela Pena 2, Racal 2, Quinto 1, Calvo 0, Castro 0, Saldua 0, Luib 0, Apreku 0.
SAN BEDA 53—Dela Cruz 16, Mendoza 11, A. Semerad 6, D. Semerad 5, Sara 4, Pascual 4, Amer 3, Cabanag 2, Solera 2, Koga 0, Mocon 0, Abude 0, Abatayo 0, Tongco 0.
Quarters: 16-6, 33-13, 49-29, 64-53