With the heroics of Jeo Ambohot, Letran Knights escaped the wrath of Arellano Chiefs, 70-68 to make it to the second phase of the fourth place playoff in the NCAA Season 93 men’s basketball tournament on Friday at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Letran Knights will move on to the next stage of the stepladder to take on San Sebastian Golden Stags on Tuesday to hopefully make the fourth spot officially theirs.
Ambohot, who suffered from a broken wrist in the earlier season, still made it big in the contest after giving the Knights a slim 69-68 lead after a putback off Rey Nambatac’s missed layup, 3.3 ticks left to play.
Levi dela Cruz could have saved the Chiefs, but mistakenly missed his shot that allowed JP Calvo to split his freebies and seal the win.
“Gaya ng sinabi ko, kailangan lang talaga naming maglaro ng A-game against Arellano, kahit wala si (Kent) Salado,” said Letran coach Jeff Napa as Salado suffered a slight MCL tear on his right knee. “Team sila maglaro kaya hanggang dulo, mahirap talaga.”
The Knights had a scare as Arellano was hard to tame as Dela Cruz and Rence Alcoriza went for a 14-8 run that gave the Chiefs a 66-64 lead with 2:27 minutes remaining.
“Kailangan lang namin maging disciplined. Madami pa kaming aayusin sa practice, dahil may lapses pa kami,” said Napa.
Graduating Nambatac topped Letran with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while JP Calvo added 11 markers, five boards and two dimes.
Dela Cruz led Arellano with 18 points, while Alcoriza chipped in 16 markers as Arellano finished the season in sixth place.
