NCAA: Letran grinds out win over Lyceum to stretch streak to seven

Brent Paraiso propels Letran Knights to seventh straight win. –NCAA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Letran upped its winning streak to seven after defeating Lyceum in a close affair, 69-64, in the second round of the NCAA Season 98 men’s basketball tournament.

The Knights, who became the first team to breach double-digit wins with a 10-3 card, also got a hold of the solo second spot behind leader College of St. Benilde.

“We were aiming to be in the top two so the boys were really motivated to finish this round on a high note,” coach Bonnie Tan said.

The Knights leaned on the heroics of their key players to fend off the Pirates, who were looking to bounce back from an upset loss to the Arellano Chiefs last Wednesday.

With the score tied at 62 in the final quarter, Louie Sangalang forced a bucket inside to give Letran a slim two-point lead, 64-62, with 1:05 remaining.

The Pirates had a chance to tie the game but Kurt Reyson stole the ball in an inbound play leading to a King Caralipio fast break layup that put the Knights up, 66-62, with 35 ticks left. 

Letran shot an efficient 42.4 percent shooting clip from the field compared to Lyceum’s 35.9 percent field goal shooting.

Brent Paraiso had the hot hands in the Letran win with 13 points from three triples while Sangalang finished with a double-double of 12 points and 18 rebounds. Kurt Reyson also scored 10.

John Barba also had his best game since suffering a back injury with 16 points and three rebounds for the Pirates, who skidded to an 8-5 record.

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The Scores:

LETRAN 69 — Paraiso 13, Sangalang 12, Reyson 10, Yu 9, Caralipio 7, Javillonar 5, Olivario 4, Go 4, Santos 3, Ariar 2, Miclat 0, Guarino 0

LPU 64 — Barba 16, Bravo 9, Guadana 8, Navarro 8, Valdez 6, Larupay 6, Umali 4, Villegas 4, Montano 3, Cunanan 0, Penafiel 0. Quarters: 16-15, 31-31, 50-46, 69-64.