NCAA: Letran destroys St. Benilde, creates logjam at No. 2

Letran Knights continue rise. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.netC

MANILA, Philippines—Letran asserted its dominance and crushed College of St. Benilde, 88-64, to create a pileup in the second spot of the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament Friday at Cuneta Astrodome.

The Knights improved to a 6-3 record, tying Lyceum and the Blazers at the second seed at the end of the first round.

Jerrick Balanza lit up for the Knights with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the three-point line.

Bonbon Batiller added 10 points for Letran, which are now two games behind leader San Beda which has an 8-0 slate.

Kendrix Belgica had 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Blazers in the losing effort.

The Knights pestered the Blazers to cough the ball up 23 times and those turnovers led to 22 points that paved the way for the Intramuros team to blow the game wide open.