Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Darell Menina took charge late and Mapua ended the first round with a 79-75 victory over Letran in the NCAA Season 92 men’s basketball tournament Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
The sophomore playmaker unloaded 12 of his 17 points in the fourth to help reigning MVP Allwell Oraeme and the Cardinals turn back the Knights.
“Nag-shoot lang ako with confidence kasi nung first half, hindi ako maka-shoot. Nung second half, bumawi na lang ako,” said Menina.
Oraeme paced Mapua with 20 points, 20 rebounds while Joseph Eriobu also had a double-double with 19 points and 12 boards.
“I’m just happy we just had the win today. We’ve been struggling the entire week, so it just feels good to win,” said Oraeme.
Letran tried to roar back in the game and got to as close as one, 76-75 with a three from Rey Nambatac in the final 37.3 seconds. But Laurenz Victoria was calm from the charity stripe, which was followed by a traveling violation from Bong Quinto that put the nail in the coffin with 2.9 ticks left.
Mapua rose to solo fourth spot with a 6-3 slate, while Letran fell to fifth spot at 5-4.
Quinto topped the Knights with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Jom Sollano got 16 markers.
Nambatac was limited to just 13 points, but was still able to collect five boards, three steals, and two dimes.