Letran was relentless in its pressure defense from the get-go and College of St. Benilde was left searching for answers in an 82-53 blowout in the NCAA Season 91 men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at Filioil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
The Knights forced a ton of turnovers and scored most of their points off of it, building leads as large as 29.
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“We won it the hard way. We don’t want to relax. Before the game, I told the boys I want them to feel tired after,” said Letran head coach Aldrin Ayo. “We don’t want the conventional way of basketball we want it chaotic. We want to mess up the other team’s offense and defense.”
The Blazers tried to solve the Knights’ suffocating defense but for the most part they were scrambling just to even cross the ball to the other side. But during the times where they were able to survive the full-court pressure, the Blazers were erratic and their offense in disarray.
Even Jonathan Grey, the team’s main man, had to bleed for his points with Knights’ defense focused on slowing him down and the rest of the Blazers, especially their backcourt, rattled and unsure.
Grey also scored 16 points and had six rebounds and two steals to lead St. Benilde. The Blazers’ guards Travis Johnson, John Domingo and Gerard Castor combined for as many turnovers as points with 14.
The Knights held the Blazers, who committed 33 turnovers, to not more than 16 points in each of the quarters.
Graduating guard Mark Cruz had an all around game with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals for Letran.
“Good way to start the season. I really want to end my college career on a winning note,” said the fiery Cruz, who made a 3-pointer that pushed his team’s lead to 22, 49-27, with 5:28 left in the third quarter where the Knights put the game beyond reach.
Letran came into its first game of the new season looking to get back into the Final Four after missing out last year.
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