30 July 2019
By Maxine Louise Lagman
MANILA, Philippines – Colegio de San Juan de Letran might have started out slow, but they made sure they ended the game on a high note after a late rally led to their fifth straight victory in the tournament.
In the first ‘Battle of Intramuros,’ Letran drew first blood after stomping on the hapless Mapua University, 89-84, Tuesday in the NCAA Season 95 men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan.
Though this served as the team’s fifth consecutive win, head coach Bonnie Tan believed they could do better than what they showed today. “Masaya kami, pero it’s a bad game,” said coach Tan during a post-game interview with the press.
It was a close contest all throughout the game. After Noah Lugo led the Cardinals within three, 63-66, Jerrick Balanza and Fran Yu dropped back-to-back triples for a 12-4 run and took a comfortable 78-67 lead for Letran.
Knights might have been too comfortable, however, as Mapua erased that 11-point deficit and came within two, 84-86, off a Christian Bunag basket, 33.9 ticks left in the game.
Bonbon Batiller came under pressure and dropped the corner triple as the Knights rose from the bench and celebrated another victory.
Larry Muyang paved the way for the Knights and flirted with a double-double record of 24 points and ninw rebounds. Batiller almost filled up the stat sheet with 15 markers, four boards, and three assists. Jeo Ambohot added 14 points, while Balanza had 11.
On the other hand, Bunag topped Mapua with a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double. Laurenz Victoria added 15 markers, six boards, four dimes, and three steals, but it was still not enough to lift the Cardinals off a winless streak.
The Scores:
LETRAN 89 – Muyang 24, Batiller 15, Ambohot 14, Balanza 11, Yu 8, Ular 6, Sangalang 4, Olivario 3, Mina 2, Javillonar 2, Caralipio 0, Reyson 0
MAPUA 84 – Bunag 17, Victoria 15, Lugo 12, Bonifacio 10, Gamboa 9, Salenga 6, Gonzales 5, Hernandez 5, Nieles 3, Garcia 2, Serrano 0, Nocum 0, Jabel 0
QUARTER SCORES: 19-16, 40-39, 66-60, 89-84
Follow the writer on Twitter: @meanxi
