Tough Knights crush Chiefs; Blazers score
There was no fourth-quarter meltdown for Letran this time.
Playing with little pressure, the Knights got their acts together in the final period to turn back the Arellano Chiefs, 72-58, yesterday and stay in Final Four contention in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.
Jam Cortes threw his weight around inside the paint to finish with 19 points and a season-high tying 21 rebounds but it was JP Belencion, who buried the key baskets that put away the Chiefs.
Belencion hit five straight points to extend a 59-53 lead to 64-56 with four minutes remaining. Another Belencion triple with 45 seconds remaining all but wrapped up the win, 69-56. It was an ideal endgame this time for the Knights, who saw their 14-point advantage vanish in the final three minutes in a 60-63 defeat to Mapua last week. “We changed our approach to this game because there’s more at stake for Arellano than for us,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, whose Knights jacked up their record to 4-7. The Chiefs fell to 4-6. Like the Knights, the St. Benilde Blazers also scored their first win of the second round by crushing Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-64, in the first game. The Blazers found an unlikely hero in seldom-used guard Luis Sinco, who shot 21 points on an 8-of-10 clip from the field.
In junior action, Letran routed Arellano, 64-39, to move up to third with an 8-3 record, while La Salle Green Hills bucked the absence of Youth Olympian Michael Pate to trounce EAC, 81-68, for a 4-7 record. The senior scores:
First Game
ST. BENILDE 83—Sinco 21, Lastimosa 19, Dela Paz 12, Nayve 9, Tan 8, Argamino 5, Amin 3, De Guzman 3, Wong 2, McCoy 1, Manalac 0.
EAC 64—Mendoza 22, Vargas 14, Chiong 10, Cubo 8, Tuazon 4, L. Yaya 3 Santos 3, Villegas 0, Lapitan 0, R. Yaya 0, Diolanto 0.
Quarters: 18-15, 31-25, 52-48, 83-64
Second Game
LETRAN 72—Cortes 19, Dysam 17, Belencion 14, Kr. Alas 8, Belorio 6, Ke. Alas 6, Espiritu 2, Rodil 0, Alejandro 0, Pantin 0, Ang 0.
ARELLANO U 58—Ciriacruz 19, Acidre 9, Celada 8, Lapuz 6, Tayongtong 6, Del Rosario 5, Advincula 2, Anquilo 2, Palma 1, Casino 0.
Quarters: 17-10, 33-29, 53-49, 72-58
Belencion hit five straight points to extend a 59-53 lead to 64-56 with four minutes remaining. Another Belencion triple with 45 seconds remaining all but wrapped up the win, 69-56. It was an ideal endgame this time for the Knights, who saw their 14-point advantage vanish in the final three minutes in a 60-63 defeat to Mapua last week. “We changed our approach to this game because there’s more at stake for Arellano than for us,” said Letran coach Louie Alas, whose Knights jacked up their record to 4-7. The Chiefs fell to 4-6. Like the Knights, the St. Benilde Blazers also scored their first win of the second round by crushing Emilio Aguinaldo College, 83-64, in the first game. The Blazers found an unlikely hero in seldom-used guard Luis Sinco, who shot 21 points on an 8-of-10 clip from the field.
In junior action, Letran routed Arellano, 64-39, to move up to third with an 8-3 record, while La Salle Green Hills bucked the absence of Youth Olympian Michael Pate to trounce EAC, 81-68, for a 4-7 record. The senior scores:
First Game
ST. BENILDE 83—Sinco 21, Lastimosa 19, Dela Paz 12, Nayve 9, Tan 8, Argamino 5, Amin 3, De Guzman 3, Wong 2, McCoy 1, Manalac 0.
EAC 64—Mendoza 22, Vargas 14, Chiong 10, Cubo 8, Tuazon 4, L. Yaya 3 Santos 3, Villegas 0, Lapitan 0, R. Yaya 0, Diolanto 0.
Quarters: 18-15, 31-25, 52-48, 83-64
Second Game
LETRAN 72—Cortes 19, Dysam 17, Belencion 14, Kr. Alas 8, Belorio 6, Ke. Alas 6, Espiritu 2, Rodil 0, Alejandro 0, Pantin 0, Ang 0.
ARELLANO U 58—Ciriacruz 19, Acidre 9, Celada 8, Lapuz 6, Tayongtong 6, Del Rosario 5, Advincula 2, Anquilo 2, Palma 1, Casino 0.
Quarters: 17-10, 33-29, 53-49, 72-58
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