Jeo Ambohot vs Sidney Onwubere. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
After missing the Final Four last year, Letran coach Jeff Napa has stressed that this time the load could not be carried by the veterans alone.
That’s why he was satisfied when role players like Jeo Ambohot produced huge contributions on Tuesday when the Knights fended off Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-80, and lock down their first win of NCAA Season 93.
“It’s a given that all of my players will step up. It’s really just a matter of time on when they can compliment, especially that Rey (Nambatac) is being guarded heavily,” the mentor said.
Showing that he’s an able finisher for Nambatac’s pick-and-roll plays, Ambohot impressed in the game as he fired a team-best 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in the win.
More importantly, the 6-foot-5 big man limited the Generals’ towering Hamadou Laminou to just seven points in the tiff, negating the latter’s presence down low.
But the 20-year-old center deflected the credit.
“It’s due to our teamwork. We worked on our defense (on Laminou). They helped me and I helped them, and that’s the reason why we limited him in his points,” the Compostela Valley native said in Filipino.
Ambohot acknowledges that expectations are bound to get higher after he churned this standout performance but he’s taking the challenge of defending the paint for the Knights against bigger and stronger foes head on.
“I have to fill the losses with the graduations of Jom Sollano and Felix Apreku. We know we really have to step up, and though we’re undersized, we know that we can’t do anything but to fight,” he said.
Letran springs back to action on Friday against JRU.