Filoil: Letran scrapes past pesky Lyceum

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Bong Quinto dragged Letran to a 78-74 thriller over Lyceum for its second win in the 2018 Chooks-to-Go Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup Tuesday at Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The senior swingman bullied his way to 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists as the Knights improved to a 2-1 record in Group B.

Larry Muyang also got 20 points and 14 boards as he commanded Letran’s domination of the boards against Lyceum, 62-38.

It was an ugly win for the Knights, who had to weather the stupendous showing of a hungry Pirates side largely made up of Team B players.

But Christian Fajarito picked up the slack in the fourth quarter, where he poured six of his 10 to give Letran a 70-65 advantage midway through the frame. He also had 13 rebounds.

“We expected a tough game, but we didn’t play our game. That’s where the problem was, we just worked in the end game,” said a relieved coach Jeff Napa as the Knights used a strong surge late to take the victory.

Still, it was a confidence-building triumph for Letran, which made full use of its depth in the game.

“It’s better to be deep than having no one to pull from your roster. We can play small, we can play big. We’ll let the other teams adjust to us,” Napa said.

Yancy Remulla topped Lyceum with 18 points and five rebounds, while Rhanzelle Yong got 15 in the defeat.

The Scores:

LETRAN 78 — Muyang 20, Quinto 17, Fajarito 10, Ambohot 9, Balanza 9, Calvo 9, Batiller 2, Galvelo 2, Agbong 0, Balagasay 0, Celis 0, Mandreza 0, Taladua 0, Yu 0.

LYCEUM 74 — Remulla 18, Yong 15, Tansingco 11, Pericas 10, Ibañez 6, Mahinay 6, Pretta 4, Cunanan 2, Salo 2, Caduyac 0, Serrano 0.

Quarters: 17-20, 36-38, 62-59, 78-74.