NCAA: Letran vows to be better as sloppy ball handling mars first round showing

Letran coach Bonnie Tan.
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Even after finishing their first round on a high, Letran coach Bonnie Tan lamented on the team’s ball handling weakness.

At the end of round one, the Knights are the worst team in terms of turnovers, averaging over 19.56 fumbles per game as a team.

“That’s been our weakness. I saw in our practices and in our stats, we’re number one in turnovers. Majority of those result in crucial transition points,” Tan said.

In Letran’s most recent 72-68 win against Emilio Aguinaldo College, the squad turned the rock over 18 times, resulting in a tight affair down the stretch.

Those same mistakes led to 15 points off turnovers for the Generals.

Kurt Reyson, one of the Knights’ leading playmakers, acknowledged the team’s negatives on offense and said it will be worked upon in practice.

“We’ll start improving in practice, it all starts there. When we come to the game, we’ll bring those lessons. Us veterans, we’ll work on it so we can lessen our turnovers because it’s hard to be the first on turnovers,” he said.

Reyson finished with 13 points, including two clutch free throws but gave the ball up three times.

The defending champion finished the first round with six wins and three losses.