By Kevin Estrada
Letran officially handed new coach Allen Ricardo his first win at the helm after rallying past rival JRU on Friday in the NCAA Season 100 at FilOil-Eco Centre in Pasig City.
Deo Cuajao drained back-to-back threes and John Sherick Estrada put on the finishing touches by scoring the last 6 points of their 12-4 run in the final four minutes to help the Intramuros-based squad improve to 1-1.
Transfer guard Estrada led all scorers with 22 points and added 9 rebounds and 2 assists in his breakout game. Backcourt partner James Miller contributed 16 points to help the former NAASCU Rookie MVP.
The pair alone was enough for the Knights’ bench to outscore the JRU’s second unit by 33, 59-26 in the entire contest.
Both Letran and JRU went into a tight battle in the first 20 minutes, which saw Miller and Estrada combine for 15 first-half points to build a slim lead at the break.
The Bombers started hot in the third quarter with Shawn Argente hitting 8 of his 18 to give them a 48-42 buffer, the Knights unleashed a 12-0 reply in the last 3:20 to wrest the lead back heading into the final frame.
JRU had a last-ditch effort to claw their way back in the payoff period, with a reverse lay-up by forward Joshua Guiab, which saw them tie the contest for the last time at 58-apiece with less than five minutes to go.
The scores:
LETRAN 70 – Estrada 22, Miller 16, Go 8, Cuajao 6, Dimaano 5, Pradella 4, Baliling 3, Jumao-as 3, Santos 2, Monje 1, Montecillo 0, Nunag 0, Delfino 0
JRU 62 – Argente 18, Guiab 12, Raymundo 9, Pangilinan 8, Ramos 6, Panapanaan 5, Barrera 4, Samontanes 0, Benitez 0, De Leon 0, De Jesus 0, Medina 0
Quarter scores: 16-15, 32-31, 54-48, 70-62
